Kehinde Fajobi
The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) announced a nationwide strike on Wednesday, citing the Federal Government’s failure to address their demands.
Dr Samuel Emdin, Chairman of MDCAN at the Federal Teaching Hospital Owerri, revealed this to journalists while reading a statement signed by MDCAN’s National President, Dr Mohammad Aminu Mohammad, and Secretary, Prof Daiyabu Alhaji Ibrahim.
Dr Emdin stated that the association’s grievances escalated following an extraordinary meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC), where members expressed dissatisfaction with the alleged disregard for due process by the Chairman of the Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, concerning the appointment of a Vice Chancellor.
In its statement, MDCAN demanded that “The Federal Government should immediately relieve the Chairman of the Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University of his appointment for insubordination and to enforce the Ministry of Education’s directive nullifying any appointments made contrary to their guidelines.”
The group also urged the government to adopt “an all-inclusive prototype for advertising the Office of Vice Chancellor, similar to the recent advertisement issued by Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.”
Other demands included:
Harmonising the retirement age of medical consultants to 70 years.
Aligning the payment of medical lecturers’ emoluments with the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to ensure its universal applicability.
Paying 2023 and 2024 Clinical Duty Allowance arrears and 25%/35% CONMESS arrears for 2023.
Dr Emdin added, “The MDCAN NEC will reconvene on Sunday, 24th November 2024, at 8:00 p.m. to reassess the situation and determine the next steps.”