FG begins payment of resident doctors’ training fund

 FG begins payment of resident doctors’ training fund

Modupe Shodeinde

The federal government on Friday began the payment of the Medical Residency Training Fund which was one of the demands of the striking doctors as a condition to call of their month-long strike.

Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, had at the end of its Annual General Meeting, which it held at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi, given the Federal Government fresh ultimatums.

These ultimatums includes, “payment of the Medical Residency Training within 72 hours since the money meant for it is available and verification of the list for payment has been completed.”

They also demanded “payment of the arrears of salaries of our members on GIFMIS platform within 72 hours while the migration process continues.”

However, it was gathered that Executive members of the striking Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors are currently divided over their ongoing industrial action, Saturday PUNCH reports.

It was learnt that new executives of NARD, alongside the Nigerian Medical Association, held a meeting with Ngige, which partly centered on indictment of former NARD executives.
It was gathered that this development did not seat well with NARD members loyal to the former executives.

A top NARD executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the government are already pleading that the strike should be called off because other demands are being attended to.

“This is causing a rift among the executives because you know the president is soft-spoken and it seems as if he wants to call off the strike, even though he can’t do it on his own without the consent of the NEC.”

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The New President of NARD, Dr Dare Ishaya, also confirmed that the government had indeed begun the payment of the MRTF.

He said, “Yes, they have started paying the Medical Residency Training Fund. They have paid 20 centres. They are paying in batches. Some people from those centres have started to receive alerts.’’

“We have about 54 centres that are supposed to benefit. The remaining 34 have not seen anything yet.

“Just like we discussed with the Minister of Labour, our discussion and agreement are that when we start getting alerts, we will call a meeting with a view to suspending the strike.

“We will keep our own side of the bargain but it is still the decision of the NEC. This was part of the minimum requirements that the NEC laid down.”

 

 

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