Era of lip service is over, NARD warns Tinubu, insists on 200% salary increase

Era of lip service is over, NARD warns Tinubu, insists on 200% salary increase

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the health sector to address the menacing brain drain.

It noted that while most doctors are competent and patriotic, the poor working environment, welfare, insecurity, among others, pushed many to seek greener pastures abroad.

The union insisted on at least a 200 per cent increment in the basic salary of its members, with the additional allowances, as contained in the letter it sent to the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health on July 7, 2022.

The NARD expressed shock over the recent increase in the prices of petroleum products, following the removal of subsidy, saying this would propel an increased inflation rate and cost of living.

The union urged the government to put measures in place to cushion the effect of subsidy removal on poor Nigerians.

The doctors expressed their concern in a statement they issued after their union’s ordinary general meeting in Lagos.

The statement by NARD President, Dr. Emeka Orji, reads: “We call on the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to, as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency in the Nigerian health sector as the era of paying lip service to the monster called ‘brain drain’ should be over.