Abia doctors suspend six months strike

In order to help the current government pay the backlog of unpaid payments, medical doctors in the state of Abia terminated their six-month-old industrial action on Friday.

At a news conference in Umuahia, Dr. Isaiah Abali, Chairman of the Abia Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), announced the suspension.

The physicians announced their decision to give an olive branch to the present administration in a statement co-signed by Abali and Secretary Daniel Ekeleme in an effort to find a solution to resolve the problem.

The statement states that in order to stop the recent unfortunate trend, “it is our hope that the administration will accelerate action on payment of the salaries as promised.

“The current state administration, which is led by Dr. Alex Otti, has pledged to pay off all wage arrears owing to doctors in Abia by December 31.

“In a meeting with the NMA Abia State Executive on Friday, June 2, his Special Adviser on Health emphasized the commitment to pay off these payments.

“The current governor has appealed to doctors to end the strike and report to work in his inaugural speech through his Special Adviser on Health while giving him the benefit of the doubt to pay off these salaries as promised.”

The chairman revealed that the Ministry of Health (MOH), Hospitals Management Board (HMB), and Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH) owed 23, 16, and two months’ worth of salaries, respectively.

He said that Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s most recent government made no believable or approving guarantee to pay the salary.