Sacked Doctors: Lagos slams NUPENG over strike

 Gov. Babatunde Fashola

Lagos State Government yesterday condemned what it termed black-mail 

and arm twisting by the Nigeria Medical Association and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Union (NUPENG) on the issue of medical doctors sacked in the state over an illegal strike.

In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Lateef Ibirogba, the State Government  said it would soon be clear to the people that it is NUPENG whose stock in trade is to call a strike at every flimsy excuse that is seeking to inflict more pains on the people through its sympathy strike and not the State Government that has tak-en decisive steps to restore normalcy in the health sector in the state.

Ibirogba said NUPENG has shown clearly by its rash ultimatum that it had a clear political agenda, adding that it was unfortunate that union’s voice was not raised in defense of doctors in the Military hos-pitals who have not been paid for nine whole months while calling a strike in support of doctors who are well paid up to date but who chose to abandon their patients with many avoidable deaths recorded adding that, in other climes, such doctors should be fac-ing prosecution.

He reiterated the State Government’s warning on the continued intimidation of old and newly employed doctors who have conscien-tiously decided to work in the state hospitals to save lives by the Nigeria Medi-cal Association.

Part of the statement read:” NUPENG should not use the doctors’ strike as a subterfuge to get back at the Lagos State Government for spearheading the much needed clearing of Apapa which has become a nightmare to lawful resi-dents and businesses in the area due to indiscriminate parking and blockade of the roads by tanker drivers.

The statement also not-ed that the medical profes-sion is one that has always been a refined profession that is guided by decorum from its members as dis-tinct from the present set of political jobbers who are masquerading as medi-cal doctors and issuing unguarded statements like the ones from the leadership of the NMA in the Federal Capital Territory and Oyo State.