Nurses’ Nationwide Strike: Group Decries FG ‘Nonchalant Disinterestedness’
A new political/civil society coalition, New Direction for Nigeria Movement, NEDMO, has condemned what it called “callous and nonchalant government disinterestedness” to the ongoing nationwide strike by the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, NANNM.
NEDMO’s Press Release signed by its Convener, Comrade Mark Adebayo, in Abuja frowned at what it described as “wanton disregard for human life by this government”.
“It is with serious concern that we view the ongoing nationwide but avoidable strike by the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, NANNM. For weeks and months, NANNM had called the attention of the Federal Government to its plights and asking for some reliefs from government, but all their notices and ultimatums went unattended.
“At best, the government answered with callous and nonchalant government disinterestedness. Consequent upon this wanton disregard for human life by this government, many lives have been lost already with the ultimate danger of many more lives to go due to no fault of theirs beyond being unfortunate victims of leadership failure in the country.
“While government functionaries, from the president down, always jump on the plane to get medical treatments abroad with members of their families, they have allowed medical facilities in government hospitals all over the country to depreciate shamefully while medical personnel are not motivated to be at their utmost best in service delivery which causes untimely deaths, including high maternal mortality rates, across the country.
“In typical government nonchalance, neither the Minister of Health nor that of Labour took any significant action to forestall this strike that regular Nigerians are the ones who are bearing the deadly brunt of this totally preventable strike that’s killing Nigerians already.
“We call on Nigerians across the country to join hands with NEDMO to steer Nigeria towards a new direction by electing a competent, capable, humane, patriotic, and incorruptible president in 2027. Let us collectively reject the current rot and also pretenders with deceptive agenda to mislead Nigerians that they could offer something better. NEDMO is the genuine coalition of the Nigerian people devoid of narrow personal interests or power desperation.”
The statement announced that the movement’s grand unveiling will hold before August runs out and invites Nigerians “from all walks of life and across generations” to join the movement.
