7 days ultimatum issued to Health workers in Owerri on HWN HIGHLIGHT

As the number of ca­sualties increase at the Federal Medi­cal Centre, FMC, Owerri, due to incessant strikes embarked on by workers, Imo State chapter of the Supreme Council of Niger Delta Youths, yesterday gave the workers a seven-day ul­timatum to resume work or resign their positions.

The workers, comprising the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Mid­wives, NANNM, the Nige­rian Union of Allied Health Professionals, NUAHP, and Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, had resumed their suspend­ed strike but downed tools again few days after a probe panel of the Federal Govern­ment gave the Medical Direc­tor, Dr Angela Uwakwem, a clean bill of health on the allegation of corruption and highhandedness leveled against her by the workers.

But angered by the high rate of casualties in the hos­pital, the Niger Delta youths stormed FMC premises and accosted the protesting health workers, lamenting that since the workers em­barked on strike from Janu­ary this year, the state has lost more than 75 patients at the hospital as a result of fre­quent closure by FMC work­ers.

Addressing the striking workers, chairman of the Supreme Council of Niger Delta Youths, Thaddeus Nwachukwu, stated that as stakeholders and Imo youths, “the council has observed with concern the incessant strikes going on at FMC Owerri since the begin­ning of 2015, resulting in the closure of the hospital and disruption of health services to Imo people. The prelimi­nary investigations carried out by our members showed that the incessant strikes at FMC Owerri were taking serious negative tolls on resi­dents of Imo State.”

He regretted that due to regular strikes at FMC Ow­erri, “our people have been denied services and a lot of avoidable deaths and other unpleasant consequences re­corded in some communities in the state.”

Nwachukwu gave the striking workers and those behind the closure of the hospital seven days from De­cember 8, 2015, to resume full services to Imo people or re­sign their employment with the hospital.