Doctors in Lagos State may soon withdraw their services if the government and hospital authorities fail to address mounting grievances over unpaid salaries, arbitrary deductions and poor welfare conditions, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State branch, has warned.
In a communiqué issued yesterday after its Emergency General Meeting (EGM) held virtually on August 15, the association accused Lagos State Government of “subjecting doctors to financial hardship” and the management of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) of “deliberate neglect” of doctors’ welfare.
The NMA said it would embark on a solidarity strike next month if the state government did not meet the demands of the Medical Guild, which had already given a 21-day ultimatum ending on August 25.
NMA Lagos Chairman, Dr. Saheed Babajide Kehinde, said: “Doctors cannot continue to work under conditions where their salaries are arbitrarily deducted, their call duty meals are denied, and their arrears remain unpaid. Enough is enough.”
The crisis began in April when Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Finance and the State Treasury Office, made unauthorised deductions from doctors’ salaries. Although the deductions were later refunded, the same incident reportedly occurred again in July.
