In a bid to resolve the ongoing strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD), the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen had a night meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Earlier in the week, Speaker Abbas had engaged in discussions with the national leadership of NARD. During the meeting, he had passionately implored the doctors to suspend their planned strike.
He sought their patience and understanding, requesting a two-week period to find solutions to the issues raised by the association.
Determined to keep his word to the resident doctors, Speaker Abbas established an ad hoc committee chaired by the Leader of the House, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, to urgently address the matter.
According to a statement by his special media aide, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, the Speaker also made a commitment to meet with President Tinubu within 24 hours to discuss the situation further.
True to his promise, Speaker Abbas sat down with President Tinubu on Tuesday night, presenting him with an overview of his earlier meeting with the NARD leadership.
He urged the president to step in and address the concerns raised by the resident doctors, highlighting the importance of their role in the country’s healthcare system.
Despite these high-level interventions, the resident doctors proceeded with their indefinite strike on Tuesday evening, underlining the gravity of their grievances.
In response, Speaker Abbas has instructed the adhoc committee to expedite their discussions with all the stakeholders in an effort to bring the strike to an immediate end.
The committee’s deputy chairman is Hon. Tanko Sununu, the immediate past Chairman of the 9th House Committee on Healthcare Services. Furthermore, all members of the House with a medical background have been included in the committee.
