Nigeria medical consultants suspend strike, to review progress in December

The Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has suspended its seven-day old warning strike.

The National President of MDCAN, Mohammad Mohammad, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday evening, said the strike was suspended following the federal government agreeing to address its demands.

Mr Mohammad noted that MDCAN’s National Executive Council (NEC) would meet in mid-December to assess the progress made on the association’s outstanding demands.

“We have agreed on all the issues, what should be done, and with a timeline. We will continue to push for the actualisation of these demands,” he said.

“The association will honour the document signed during the conciliation meeting with the federal government, led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, and will continue to monitor developments as they unfold.”

Industrial action, consultant demands

The association had on Monday declared a seven-day warning strike over the government’s alleged failure to take significant steps in addressing its demands.

Although members of the association complied with the directives to proceed on strike , health services were still being rendered in some hospitals in Abuja, the nation’s capital city, and Lagos State.

Findings by PREMIUM TIMES show that while the strike disrupted elective services in some facilities, emergency and critical care remained operational as hospitals moved to mitigate the impact of the industrial action.

Among the consultants’ concerns was the exclusion of medical and dental lecturers in the selection process for the Vice-Chancellor position at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State. The association also demanded the immediate removal of the university’s Governing Council Chairman, accusing him of insubordination.

In response, President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, dissolved UNIZIK’s Governing Council, removed Bernard Odoh as Vice-Chancellor, and sacked Rosemary Nwokike as Registrar.

The president emphasised that university councils must ensure the smooth operation of institutions in line with their establishment Acts. He warned against actions that disrupted university activities, as his administration was focused on improving the nation’s Educational standards.

Speaking further with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Mohammad said, “Our number one demand has been sorted, which is the UNIZIK issue.”

Other demands

The association also called for medical lecturers to be paid according to the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), addressing disparities in their emoluments.

It listed other reasons for the warning strike to include the government’s failure to harmonise the retirement age of medical consultants to 70 years, to address the current shortfall of critical manpower for training, research, and healthcare services in the country, and failure to universally implement the CONMESS for clinical lecturers in all Nigerian Universities, “which aims to mitigate the current shortfalls in their emolument, entry level, and pension contribution of members.”

About MDCAN

MDCAN is an association of medical and dental consultants who are specialists in various fields of medicine and dentistry, holding the highest qualifications in their professions.

Their responsibilities include training medical doctors, providing specialist healthcare services to patients, and conducting research across medical fields.

MDCAN’s members work in government and non-governmental hospitals, as well as tertiary and secondary health facilities nationwide.