The Federal Capital Territory Chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA-FCT), has asked the Federal Government to revaluate its plans of “No work, No pay” for health workers, as according to them, the act will greatly destroy the sector.
The FCT association had made the call together with the Nasarawa and Kogi states chapters, during a news conference on Sunday in Abuja, to herald the 2023 Annual General Meeting, AGM, and Scientific Conference of the NMA-FCT.
The Chairman of NMA-FCT, Dr Charles Ugwuanyi, had criticised the suggested idea by the Federal Government, and its decision to implement the plan following the ongoing strike by the National Association of Residents Doctors, NARD.
According to Ugwuanyi, if the government goes ahead with the plan, it would significantly show the perceived healthcare challenge of scarcity of doctors, where most of them have already moved out of the country.
Ugwuanyi had also stated that NARD was only clamouring for its rights, so as to encourage the doctors who were inclined to keep working for the country to stay.
Presently, Nigeria has about 25,000 registered practicing doctors, a very dismal figure. The government has to urgently find a way to coerce doctors to stay in the country to mitigate against the current brain drain.
Finally, the NMA-FCT Chairman also asked the various administrations at different levels in the country to take the safety of their health workers seriously.
