The Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, may have sacked the doctors who embarked on a strike since September 28, 2015.
The state government on Wednesday placed a series of vacancy advertisements at the state’s hospitals for interested doctors. The advertisement was aired on the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation.
The advertisement was signed by Sunday Olajide on behalf of the Head of Service, Mr. Sunday Owoeye.
The President of the Association of Resident Doctors, LAUTECH, Dr. Adeyinka Owolabi, when contacted told our correspondent on the telephone that he was also aware of the vacancy advertisement.
He said, “We are still on strike. Nothing has changed but I heard the – government advertising vacancies for doctor’s positions on the television. They are promising them the stipends that we are rejecting.
“We have approached the court before this and we are waiting for the date of the hearing of the matter.”
The Consultant to Osun State Government on Information, Mr. Sunday Akere, refused to pick calls made to his telephone and also had yet to respond to the text message sent to him on the matter.
However, the Head of Service, Owoeye, confirmed the advertisement to our correspondent in a response to the text message sent to his telephone by our correspondent.
Owoeye replied, “True and Yes.”
Reacting to the development, the Nigeria Medical Association asked medical doctors in the country to shun the jobs advertised by the state government.
The state Chairman of the NMA, Dr. Suraj Ogunyemi, who said this while speaking to our correspondent on the telephone, said any doctor who appeared to be interviewed for the jobs would be sanctioned.
Ogunyemi said the national body of the NMA was in support of the steps being taken by its Osun State chapter, saying the association would also sanction any doctor who would sit on the panel of interviewers for the advertised jobs.
He said, “Any medical or dental doctor who appears for the interview will be sanctioned by the NMA. Any doctor in the ministry or hospital who sits on the panel to interview any doctor will also be sanctioned.
“The step taken by the state government is condemnable. The NMA condemns it in strong terms. While everybody is trying to see that the crisis is resolved amicably, the governor is trying to worsen the situation.”
Ogunyemi accused Aregbesola of trying to set the state on fire with his utterances and actions. He vowed that the NMA would frustrate Aregbesola’s attempt to replace the striking doctors.
He advised the governor to constitute his cabinet so that he might get competent people to advise him on the right steps to take.
The state government had given the striking doctors an ultimatum which expired on January 11, 2016 after which it threatened that those of them who failed to resume by Monday should consider themselves sacked.
The governor, last Thursday, threatened that the civil service rule to this effect would be implemented last Monday but this did not happen.
However, the advertisement could be an indication that the governor had carried out his threat.
The doctors rejected half salaries which the state government was paying to all workers and embarked on the strike after the expiration of the ultimatum.
Meanwhile, the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria at the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital on Wednesday started an indefinite strike at the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum given the government.
The Secretary of MDCAN, Dr. Tokunbo Olajumoke, confirmed this to our correspondent on the telephone.
He said, “The strike started at 8am this morning at the expiration of the ultimatum. So, we are on strike.”
The MDCAN had last week given an ultimatum to the government on “amputated salaries” and resident doctors’ issues.
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