NMA president insists on resignation over strike

The president yesterday tendered his resignation letter internally to his members, saying he could longer condone the campaign of continuing the strike.
The resignation, which is headed ‘Clarification,’ a copy of which was made available to Weekly Trust, reads in part: “I want to make it categorically clear that I stand by every letter of the document I signed, “that the strike was suspended,” and since upon my integrity and honour, I cannot continue to drive the doctrine that, “strike continue,” I hereby tender my letter of resignation as NMA president.”
Before Weekly Trust received a copy of the letter, the secretariat had sent an empty mail, saying it was a copy of the recommendation from their last meeting.
When this reporter tried to get response most of the executive members refused to answer their phone calls.
Later fillers revealed that the executive members were trying to resolve the matter internally without the president’s resignation being leaked.
Some of the members who spoke to Weekly Trustdenied knowledge of the resignation.
It is recalled that ongoing strike has taken its toll on doctors as two factions have emerged in its apex body.
The faction led by the association’s president, Dr. Obembe, issued a statement calling doctors back to work, while the group led by the association’s first vice president, Dr. Titus Ibekwe is insisting that the NMA is yet to call off the strike.
Obembe insisted in the statement he signed that “the federal government had reacted positively to all our 24-point demand.” Just as he stated that doctors could no longer ignore the pleadings of Nigerians as well as the interventions from the presidency and the National Assembly.
However the delegates meeting of the association held on Wednesday night till the early hours of Thursday morning at Vinyl Hotel, Abuja, almost degenerated into fisticuffs, with some doctors resorting to name calling.
Weekly Trust findings also showed that while some members wanted the strike to continue, citing federal government’s refusal to accede to their 24- point demand, others demanded that the industrial action be suspended and moved for the impeachment of Obembe.
A few state chapter chairmen in attendance at the meeting raised an alarm that the association had been infiltrated by politicians.‎ Worst still, a large number of doctors is insisting that majority of their demands be met before they return to work.
A high ranking NMA member said doctors were ready to continue with the strike as long as it takes the federal government to respond to their demands.
He said: “Well,ASUU received condemnation from many quarters but what happened at the end? It is normal for people to feel bad when doctors go on strike. What is important is for the objectives to be set clear. The doctor only gets appreciated when his/her services are required. After that no one cares about the condition of the doctor who society believes is next to God.”