Medical and dental lecturers under the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics, NAMDA, are set to embark on a three-day warning strike after 14 of the association’s 17 branches voted in favour of industrial action.
The strike, scheduled to begin next Tuesday, is expected to affect medical schools across the country, with the association warning that the action will be total.
NAMDA Acting Secretary-General, Prof. Aniekan Peter, disclosed this in a statement issued in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Wednesday.
Peter said the decision followed what the association described as the Federal Government’s failure to address longstanding concerns affecting medical lecturers, particularly amid the increasing migration of academics and health professionals.
He said, “Fourteen NAMDA branches have voted to embark on industrial action as directed by the National Executive Council. The warning strike is scheduled to commence Tuesday, next week, and will be total and comprehensive across medical schools in the country.”
The association identified several unresolved issues, including the failure to conclude negotiations on the conditions of service for medical lecturers through the Ahmed Yahale Committee.
It also complained about the lack of formal documentation for the payment of medical lecturers under the CONMESS salary structure, as well as outstanding payments for the Medical and Clinical Academic and Technologists Allowance, MCATA.
Other unpaid entitlements listed by the association include Earned Academic Allowance, Excess Workload Allowance and Professorial Allowance.
Peter expressed concern that the issues had been allowed to persist despite the shortage of medical lecturers in the country and the increasing number of academics leaving Nigeria in search of better opportunities.
He urged the Federal Government to resume negotiations and resolve the outstanding matters before the proposed strike begins.
According to him, “Despite the dearth of medical lecturers and the worsening ‘Japa’ syndrome, the Federal Government appears to have continued to ignore the legitimate concerns of medical lecturers.”
The association also criticised the government’s reported response to the shortage of doctors, particularly efforts to increase the number of medical graduates without adequately strengthening the workforce responsible for training them.
Peter argued that expanding medical education without improving the welfare and remuneration of medical lecturers would further weaken the system.
He said, “You cannot mass-produce doctors without investing in the doctors and medical lecturers who train them.”
NAMDA further called for better remuneration and improved working conditions, warning that continued neglect could worsen the migration of medical academics and undermine the quality of medical education in Nigeria.
The association appealed to the Federal Government to return to the negotiating table and address the outstanding issues in order to avert the planned industrial action.
