By ISMAIL ABDULAZIZ

The Federal Government says it will continue to dialogue with the members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and the labour unions towards addressing their grievances.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, said this after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said the engagement with the president on the strike by the resident doctors was enlightening as he showed great concern about their plight.

“We met with the president on the strike of the National Association of Resident Doctors. He asked us to continue to dialogue with them and tell them to give him more time.

“He told us that some of the issues raised by doctors were not known to him and he will like to resolve them as quickly as possible. I believe within the next coming days some actions would be taken,” Abbas said.

Similarly, the Speaker said the House would continue to dialogue towards meeting the demands of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

“We will invite them to come and sit so that we can hear their grievances and then we follow the same pattern of engaging them, persuading them to give us a little to see how can be able to meet their expectations.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that resident doctorsstarted their strike on Wednesday as government failed to meet it demands.

Part of their demands include immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF); and immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement.

It also includes the payment of skipping arrears and upward review of CONMESS in line with full salary restoration to the 2014 value of CONMESS.

The NLC has also given a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to reverse all perceived anti-poor policies, including the recent hike in the pump price of petrol or face an indefinite nationwide strike from Aug. 2.

Abbas appealed to the labour unions to give the new government of Tinubu more time to look into their demands with the aim of resolving them. (NAN)

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