Medical Academics Give FG 21-Day Deadline

Author: Gist Correspondent

The Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) has issued the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to address lingering welfare and remuneration concerns, warning that failure to act could trigger a nationwide indefinite strike.

The ultimatum was announced on Tuesday in Abuja by the association\'s President, Nosa Orhue, following the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

Orhue said the union expected the Federal Government to conclude negotiations on its outstanding demands within the 21-day window, stressing that the NEC would reconvene at the expiration of the deadline to determine its next course of action if there was no satisfactory resolution.

He lamented that despite more than two years of sustained dialogue with the government, no meaningful progress had been achieved on critical issues affecting members.

According to him, negotiations on the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement have remained stalled since April 9, despite several engagements with relevant government authorities.

The NAMDA president also decried what he described as the exclusion of medical academics from improved welfare packages already extended to other university-based unions.

He noted that the continued non-payment of earned academic and professorial allowances had adversely affected members\' morale and contributed to the growing migration of medical academics from Nigerian universities in search of better opportunities abroad.

Orhue urged the Federal Government to urgently resolve the outstanding issues to avert industrial action and safeguard stability in the nation\'s medical education sector.