Give Tinubu Breathing Space, Speaker Abbas Begs Resident Doctors Over Planned Strike

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has appealed to resident doctors to give the new administration of President Bola Tinubu some breathing space to resolve their grievances.

The appeal came against the backdrop of plans by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to embark on fresh strike action.

Abbas made the call at a meeting between the leadership of the House and NARD in Abuja on Monday.

He said the House would deploy every legislative instrument available to ensure that NARD’s demands were met.

NARD had issued a notice of strike, citing the government’s failure to meet its demands, including payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund, upward review of Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and salary arrears dating back to 2015.

Abbas said the House understood the challenges faced by resident doctors, and that it was committed to finding a lasting solution to the crisis.

He urged NARD to suspend the strike while the House intervened in the matter.

“We hope to even go beyond the steps and actions taken by the previous House to ensure that we find a lasting resolution to the ever lingering crisis,” he said.

Abbas said the House was not unmindful of the many sacrifices resident doctors had made in the health sector, and that it would work to ensure that they were fully compensated.

He said the issue would be approached with an open mind, and that all parties would be expected to compromise.

“We must find a middle ground that satisfies everyone without prejudice to the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding,” he said.

Abbas urged NARD to appeal to its members to be patient while the House worked to resolve the issue.

Recall that NARD had embarked on a five-day warning strike which was suspended on May 21 to enable the Tinubu administration meet it’s demands.