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NARD Begins Nationwide Strike Over Kidnapped Doctor, Halts Medical Services
On Monday, August 26, 2024, the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) initiated a nationwide 7-day warning strike across all its centers. This strike is in response to the ongoing captivity of one of their colleagues, Dr. Ganiyat Popoola, who has been held by kidnappers for over eight months.
Dr. Dele Abdullahi, the President of NARD, announced this development in a formal statement, explaining that the decision was taken during an urgent virtual meeting of the association’s National Executive Council, which took place on Sunday, August 25, 2024.
Abdullahi made it clear that the industrial action would be comprehensive, halting all medical services, including emergency care, for the entire duration of the strike.
Dr. Popoola, who works as a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre in Kaduna, was abducted along with her husband and nephew nearly eight months ago.
While her husband was released in March, Dr. Popoola and her nephew remain in captivity, a situation that has deeply concerned both NARD and the wider medical community.
The doctors are demanding her immediate release, alongside improved security measures to protect medical professionals, particularly in high-risk areas.
The strike is intended to draw attention to these issues and pressurize the government to act swiftly. With no medical services being rendered during the strike, including emergency treatments, the situation could have significant implications for patients nationwide.
NARD has emphasized that the strike is a necessary step in the face of increasing insecurity and the government’s perceived lack of urgency in securing the release of Dr. Popoola.
The association further stressed that the safety of health workers must be prioritized to prevent similar incidents in the future.
TV anchor Rufai Oseni makes headlines as he speaks on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He shared that Nigeria can have fuel subsidy without the long queues at filling stations.
“When we were still paying subsidies, there were no long queues. We were subsidising. So you can still have a subsidy regime going on, and there will be no long queues because production was close by. Dangote had it. That’s just it. That argument also falls flat.
“The biggest beneficiaries of subsidy are not Nigerians. They are crony capitalists that have big infrastructure, and they do contracts. They have been the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, speaks to those in the electricity sector about the usual blackouts in the state.
He speaks on ways things can change in the state and how electricity can be provided.
“We need to drop corporate egos, abandon long-standing excuses, and confront the harsh realities obstructing progress in the power sector.”
“We, state governments, used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.
“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Thursday, August 20, a work-free day for public servants in the state to mark the Isese Festival.
Speaking on the celebration, he said “Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said.
He added “When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Aregbe said.
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