Latest News | News Break Nigeria Ongoing efforts to resolve the lingering crisis between the Federal Government and striking medical doctors proved abortive on Thursday following the absence of Onyebuchi Chukwu, health minister at a stakeholders’ meeting. The stakeholders had on Monday agreed to reconvene on Thursday to take final decision on how best to suspend the nationwide industrial action. Ndudi Elumelu and other members of the committee also urged coordinating minister for the economy and director-general of Budget Office of the Federation to attend the reconciliatory meeting. Elumelu, chairman, House Committee on Health, who convened the meeting, however, expressed displeasure over the minister’s complacency towards finding lasting solution to the three-week industrial crisis. To this end, Elumelu while briefing the House at plenary on the outcome of the tripartite meeting with Federal Government and Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), blamed the health minister for the continuation of the strike. He argued that the minister has failed to carry out most of the decisions reached in months past when attempts were made to resolve the lingering crisis. While ruling on the matter, Aminu Tambuwal, speaker, House of Representatives, urged the minister “to expeditiously attend to the invitation of the committee otherwise the House may resort to other ways of compelling them to attend as enshrined in the constitution.” The Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office which were requested to make appearances at the sitting also boycotted the Thursday’s meeting. According to Elumelu, the minister was expected to draw a memo to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on the resolutions adopted in the last Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by all parties in the meeting held earlier in the year, but six months after, nothing was done by the minister. In his contribution to the debate, Samson Osagie, deputy minority whip, chided the minister for “his uncaring attitude towards the situation of the poor who need the government hospitals more.”
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 06:48:57 +0000
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