Hon. House of Representatives Committee on Health, Chairman. The committee has begun discussions with the Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) leadership to address the ongoing crisis in the health sector, according to Amos Magaji.  ,
He claimed that the action was done to ensure accountability and transparency of government actions.
According to Magaji, who made the declaration on Wednesday on The Morning Brief on Channels Television, the House will no longer be a party to labor disputes between the Federal Government and medical unions. He emphasized that future agreements must be sincere, practical, and reflected in the national budget.
“We have started talking with the Association of Resident Doctors,” said Magaji, “and we have sat down with them.” We want a copy of everything you have done for the Federal Government in terms of compensation, salary adjustments, or allowances. We want to see the government’s decision to increase salaries by a certain percentage in the budget because my committee will be involved in the conflict between the medical workers and the federal government.
The lawmaker complained that previous negotiations had been sparked by untimely strikes in the health sector.
What happens over time is that agreements are made, whether it is with doctors or ASUU, but most of the time, he said, we aren’t sincere in our dispute resolution. You quickly agree with medical doctors and ASUU because you want them to resume their work. However, they work for six months and a year after deciding to end the strike, and those contracts are broken.
In his opinion, transparency is essential to maintaining peace with unions.
Know what you can and cannot do if you want to raise salaries by 5%. He remarked, “Don’t lie, come clean.” “I believe that we won’t have these strikes all the time if we work with our unions on issues of dispute resolution.”
He added that the committee would assess each request made by resident doctors, including those made by the FCT, and categorize them according to timelines and feasibility.
“We will keep an eye on the Federal Government, especially the Ministry of Health, and all other accountable bodies to make sure that whatever we have agreed with the union is carried out in the budget,” said Magaji.
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According to him, whatever agreement is reached will be implemented by the House, giving the House a stronger legislative authority to resolve disputes in the health sector.
His remarks come as part of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD)’s ongoing strike.
The strike directive was issued after the Federal Government had received a 30-day ultimatum over unresolved demands, according to NARD President Mohammad Suleiman in a statement.
The strike action had been approved by the association’s National Executive Council (NEC), which had been stymied for a five-hour meeting.
