NEWS
‘No Work, No Pay’ Tinubu Tells Striking Resident Doctors
The Federal Government has instituted a “no work, no pay” policy for resident doctors which may prevent them from receiving their salaries due to their ongoing strike.
This is stated in a letter to the Accountant General of the Federation dated August 1 and sent by the Director of Hospital Services at the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), Dr. Andrew Noah, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olufunso Adebiyi.
The letter is titled ‘Re: Incessant Strike Action by Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD): Implementation of ‘No Work, No Pay’ Policy of the Federal Government’. It has DHS/828/T1/410 as its serial number.
The body of the letter read: “NARD has in a letter Ref_. No. NARD/SG/2022-2023/050723/459; dated July 5, extended its expired ultimatum by another two weeks effective from Wednesday, July 5.
“Also at the expiration of the extended ultimatum on July 19, if all the demands are not met, NARD will not guarantee industrial harmony in the health Sector.
“On July 26, NARD embarked on an indefinite strike over their agitated issues despite concerted government interventions.”
The letter also itemised some of NARD’s key demands to be immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), immediate implementation of a minimum of 200 per cent increment in Consolidated Medical Salary Structure and the upward review of associated allowances.
Others are payment of outstanding arrears of consequential adjustment, hazard allowance and skipping allowance.
The letter said that various conciliatory meetings by the ministry of health, Ministry of labour and Employment, government stakeholders and the National Assembly proved abortive in getting NARD to call off the indefinite strike action.
“I am directed to bring to your notice the provisions of Circular No.58598/S.1/II/182 dates June 22, 2016, on ‘No Work, No Pay’ and request for the implementation of the circular to serve as a deterrent to other health workers.
“I am further directed to request your good office to stop the salaries of all striking resident doctors with effect from July 26, 2023,” the letter read.
Reacting to the letter, the President of NARD, Dr Innocent Orji, told journalist that the ‘no work, no pay’ policy would aggravate the issues and escalate the on-going strike by its members.
According to him, the Federal Government has aggravated the matter because FMOH has not been living up to their responsibility, but claim that because it does not have a minister, it cannot do much.
Speaking about the various conciliatory talks that the government and other stakeholders have engaged the association in, Orji said it is getting people tired.
He added that the Federal Government had not been in negotiations with the association since the strike commenced.
“We had talks before the strike started, we have said before that they do not need talks to pay MRTF 2023, it is in the budget and the funds are there.
“They do not need talks or meetings to release the circular on One-for-One policy for the replacement of exited clinical workers so that they can replace those who have left the system, our members are just working round the clock alone doing the work of so many people.
“If you tell me that for skipping arrears, for CONMESS review that demands negotiations fine, but for these other ones, nobody needs any special meeting to do that and that is the problem.
“Assuming they did two or three things of course doctors can now decide to consider coming back to work and give more time for discussions to resolve the other issues but that has not happened.
“A government that has made promises and decided to renege on those promises and on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with us and they are doing this, it will only aggravate the matter.
“We will have our meeting this weekend, whatever happens from next week let it be put on record that they caused it,” Orji said.
In a shocking incident on Sunday morning, unknown gunmen suspected to be kidnappers invaded the home of Alhaji Auwal, a prominent businessman, in Garo Town, Kabo Local Government Area of Kano State.
The gunmen, estimated to be around 10 in number, forced their way into the residence, breaking down a door to gain entry.
An anonymous source revealed that the attackers were heavily armed, with three carrying firearms and the rest wielding other weapons.
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They quickly gathered the entire family in one room, instilling fear and panic in the household.
According to the source, Alhaji Auwal pleaded with the assailants to spare his family and agreed to meet their demands.
The kidnappers, who were determined to extort money, received ₦8 million from the family.
Despite this payment, the gunmen took the businessman’s eldest daughter, Zainab, a secondary school graduate, before fleeing the scene.
The whereabouts of Zainab remain unknown, and as of now, the kidnappers have not contacted the family.
This abduction comes just 48 hours after the tragic kidnapping and subsequent murder of former Gombe State Permanent Secretary, Atiku Mu’azu, who was killed by gunmen after a ₦10 million ransom was paid.
The two incidents have left the residents of Kano in shock and fear, prompting calls for increased security measures in the area.
Attempts to reach the spokesperson for the Kano Police Command, SP Abdullahi Haruna, for comment were unsuccessful as his phone remained unreachable.
Authorities have yet to make any official statements regarding the investigation.
In a bold move, Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared on Sunday that he would not allow US deportation flights carrying Colombian migrants to access his country’s airspace.
The left-wing leader took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his strong stance, stating, “The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants.”
Petro made it clear that such flights would only be accepted once Washington established a protocol to ensure the “dignified treatment” of deported migrants.
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The president later confirmed in a separate post that he had already turned back US military planes that were en route with Colombian migrants on board, although he did not provide further specifics on the matter.
While AFP sought confirmation from US authorities regarding the blockade of deportation flights, no immediate response was forthcoming.
Petro’s statements come just a day after Brazil’s government voiced similar outrage over the treatment of deported Brazilians.
Brazil condemned the US administration under President Donald Trump, citing instances where Brazilian migrants were deported while handcuffed on flights, describing it as a “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.
In his remarks, Petro emphasized that he would be open to allowing civilian US flights to transport deported migrants as long as they were not subjected to treatment “like criminals,” signaling a broader call for humane treatment of migrants under international deportation policies.
An explosion at a mining site in Sabon Pegi, Mashegun Local Government Area of Niger State, claimed the lives of four individuals and left several others injured on Sunday morning.
The blast occurred as miners resumed operations, sending shockwaves through the community.
While the exact cause of the explosion remains undetermined, local residents have pointed to the poor handling of explosive devices by mining companies as a possible factor.
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The incident has sparked concerns about safety practices within the mining sector.
Community sources confirmed the recovery of four bodies, but authorities fear the death toll could rise.
Investigations are ongoing to establish the cause of the blast and assess the full extent of the damage.
One resident, Aminu, described the chaos that followed the explosion. “The sound was so loud that many of us thought it came from the hydroelectricity dam nearby. People panicked and ran into the bush for safety,” he recounted.
Another community member highlighted the potential role of mining operations in the tragedy.
“Mining companies here frequently use explosives during their activities, and this seems like an operational issue, not something related to terrorism,” the resident said, dismissing concerns about a security threat in the area.
As of the time of reporting, neither the state government nor security agencies have released an official statement regarding the explosion.
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