The Ekiti state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has threatened to shut down government health facilities in the state following the government’s refusal to obey the NMA’s demands for the withdrawal of unfavorable allowances introduced for doctors.
The association’s chairman in Ekiti state, Dr Ifedayo Oreyemi made this known during a chat with journalists in the state today, adding that the chapter is fully ready to join the proposed industrial action.
Recall that the NMA national body issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal government to withdraw a circular released through the National Salary Income and Wages Commission on June 27, 2025, on the upward review of allowances.
Oreyemi said “a flagrant contravention of the previous Collective Bargaining Agreements that emphasised the existence of relativity in the remuneration of doctors with other health care workers.
“The action of the Federal Government clearly demonstrated the insensitivity and hypocrisy of the government to keep to terms with the agreements previously entered into with the NMA.”
Oreyemi, who described Nigerian doctors as one of the best among physicians and surgeons around the world, charged Nigerian leaders and politicians “to endeavour to invest in the country’s health sector as done in countries where they always run to for medical assistance”.
The NMA demands
The state NMA chairman, Oreyemi listed the association’s demands, which he said must be met to avert the strike. They include “the immediate withdrawal of the circular on review of allowances for medical/dental officers in the federal public service dated 27th June, 2025, and immediate correction of consequential adjustments in line with the agreements of 2001, 2009, and 2014 CBAs”.
He said that the demands included “Immediate correction of the relativity agreed between CONMESS and CONHESS, and compliance with relativity in all professional allowances with the 2001 CBA, particularly regarding calk duty allowances, and the payment of all accrued backlogs, and immediate payment of Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) for 2025 and upward review of the MRTF to reflect prevailing economic realities, and Immediate convocation of the long – overdue Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations on CONMESS.”
“Immediate release of circular on clinical duty and other allowances for honorary consultants as agreed in January 2024, implementation of scarce skills allowances for medical consultants, approval of specialist allowances for all doctors, approval of excess workload allowances for all doctors and compliance with CBA of 2021 on hazard allowance and a few others.”
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