The Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Capital Territory Administration (ARD FCTA), has launched a three-day warning strike to protest unpaid salaries, allowances, and other unresolved demands.
The strike, which has paralyzed activities in government hospitals across Abuja, follows a three-week ultimatum issued last year that yielded no results.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, ARD FCTA President, Dr. George Ebong, revealed the decision stemmed from a Congress meeting held on Tuesday.
“The three-day strike is being implemented across all government hospitals in Abuja. From Wuse to Asokoro, Maitama, Kubwa, Zuba, Kwali, Abaji, Nyanya, and all of our hospitals in Abuja,” he stated.
Ebong lamented the government’s failure to address the six months of unpaid arrears owed to doctors despite previous dialogues and extensions.
“We gave the government a three-week ultimatum to meet our demands, and after that, we met with them and dialogued on several occasions. They pleaded for two weeks, but after that elapsed, nothing has been done. Not even the minimum thing. We expected them to pay for the 6 months of unpaid arrears to doctors.
“After this three-day strike, we will do an appraisal. If nothing is done, we will go on an indefinite strike.
“We want the Minister of FCT to solve this problem to avert an indefinite shutdown of the hospitals in Abuja,” he added.
Challenging FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Dr. Ebong urged government officials to use public hospitals to experience the state of the healthcare system firsthand.
“If we are ready to fix the healthcare system in this country, I would think that every government official must use the government hospitals. Let’s start with that.
“I would like to see the minister use Wuse General Hospital. I would like to see the Senate President use Maitama General Hospital. I would like to see the Speaker use Iyanya General Hospital. Then, we can start to fix the system. If they don’t use it, then we can’t fix it. I’m sorry but that’s the truth,” Ebong said during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
