Muhammad Suleiman, NARD president, in an interview with TheCable
said they are yet to receive communication from the government.

“We are still waiting to hear from the federal government on
how they intend to implement some of the things that we have put in our minimum
demand. So, the strike is still on,” he said.

On Saturday, NARD commenced a nationwide “total,
comprehensive, and indefinite” strike.

Hours after NARD declared its indefinite strike, the federal
government said it would release the sum of N11.99 billion within 72 hours to
offset some of the salary and allowance arrears owed to medical professionals
in the country.

But the NARD president questioned the figures mentioned,
saying the breakdown of funds discussed with the government last week does not
add up to N11.9 billion.

“That N11.9 billion… I don’t know what is contained in it.
What I know is that the conversation that happened last week was N2.9 billion
for accoutrement allowance, N2.4 billion for non-clinical duty — which is even
only for consultants; no resident doctor will get that — and another N400
million plus for backlog of COVID-19 allowance, which is for other health
workers,” he said.

He added that only a fraction of the total, about N500
million, would directly benefit resident doctors.

“Even if you combine all of that, only accoutrement
allowance affects doctors. Even with that allowance, resident doctors will
probably just get N500 million out of it, and that’s about N50,000 per person,”
he said.

He said the total funds expected for release between Monday
and Tuesday stand at around N6 billion, and NARD is yet to receive the
disbursement.

“We have not seen the release yet. So, I don’t know where
N11.9 billion is coming from, honestly. Perhaps the ministry will explain
that,” he added.

THE DEMANDS

The doctors are demanding fair remuneration, payment of
salary arrears, improved working conditions, adequate staffing, and the
provision of essential medical infrastructure.

Their concerns also include excessive workloads, which they
say directly affect the quality of healthcare delivered to Nigerians.

The association is calling for a 200 percent increase in the
Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), full implementation of the new
allowances proposed in July 2022, immediate recruitment of clinical staff, and
removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks hindering the replacement of exiting
doctors.