August 30, (THEWILL) – The Ministry of Labour and Employment has said the 21-day ultimatum given to the Federal Government by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) is a direct breach on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on August 21, 2021.
The Ministry in a statement issued late Sunday by its Spokesperson, Charles Akpan, said the Federal Government is religiously implementing its own side of the agreement with effective monitoring by the office of the Minister of Labour and Employment, adding that NMA is yet to move a needle on the roles assigned to it in the MOU.
THEWILL reports the NMA had threatened to join the ongoing strike by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) if the government failed to resolve all the issues contained in the various agreements signed with its affiliate unions.
But reacting to the threat, the government in a statement, argued that the NMA’s position was at variance with the timeline stated in the MoU.
The statement reads: “First is that, the NMA communiqué in Benin which issued a 21-day ultimatum is at variance with the timeline in article II, VII and X of the MOA.
“Importantly, Article II on payment of the outstanding hazard allowance from the 2020 Medical Residency Training Fund states that the fund will be paid after verification and reconciliation of figures from the BOF. Till now, Both NARD/ Postgraduate Medical College are yet to submit the validated application for the eligible doctors missed out in 2020 to enable this payment.
“Article VII on withdrawal of the circular from the Office of the Head of Service removing House and NYSC doctors from the scheme of service says “The NMA should submit her position immediately to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) for onward transmission to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Fed- eration with a view to pro- cessing and issuance of clarification circular within two months. The NMA is yet to comply with this.
“Similarly, the Technical committee set up in article VII to tackle the backlog of arrears on GISMIS was given four weeks effective Tuesday, August 31, to round off its assignments. Is this not on collision with the 21-day ultimatum?
“Also, article X of the MoU also states that the NMA should facilitate the withdrawal of suits by Med- ical and Dental Specialist Association in Basic Medical Sciences (MEDSABAMS) against National Salaries Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) and the Accountant General of the Federation to ensure the amicable resolution of the issues. The NMA is yet to do this, yet issuing a fresh ultimatum.
“It is, therefore, clear that the 21-day ultimatum will neither assist the NMA discharge the role assigned to it in the MoU nor facilitate the faithful implementation of the timeline which the Federal Government has given every attention.
“The truth is that NMA should play its role as the guardian of its affiliate associations instead of descending into the arena for needless fear of impeachment.
“It has by the communiqué issued in Benin, abdicated the main role assigned to it in the August 21 MoU.”
