Lara Adejoro As senior doctors under the aegis of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria begin a seven-day warning strike today (Monday), healthcare services are at risk of being grounded in no fewer than 83 health facilities and 64 medical schools across the country. This was disclosed by the National President of the MDCAN, Prof Muhammad Muhammad, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Sunday. MDCAN in a communique issued last Thursday declared a seven-day warning strike over the Federal Government’s inability to take significant steps to address its demands.
The strike will commence in all Nigerian universities and hospitals from today (Monday) to Sunday, November 24, 2024. Earlier in October, MDCAN issued a 21-day ultimatum from October 21 to November 11, to stakeholders, including the Federal Government, to address its demands, or its members would withdraw their services nationwide. The association expressed concerns regarding the exclusion of medical and dental lecturers based on the criteria used in the appointment for the selection process for the office of the Vice-Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State.
It also demands the harmonisation of the retirement age of medical and dental consultants to 70 years to mitigate the effects of doctors’ migration; and the payment of the emoluments of medical lecturers with Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to correct the shortfalls in their emolument, entry-level, .
