President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Kayode Obembe, yesterday evening threw in the towel in reaction to the refusal of his colleagues to end the six-week-old doctors’ strike despite the medical emergency in the country arising from the Ebola outbreak.

Dr. Obembe had on Thursday announced the suspension of the strike based on humanitarian grounds and government’s meeting of some of the association’s demands but he was promptly contradicted by other senior NMA executives.

In reaction, Dr. Obembe said in a resignation letter dated 8th August, 2014: “There have been requests about two postings from the NMA secretariat. I want to make it categorically clear that I stand by the document I signed that the strike was suspended. And since it’s upon my integrity and honour, I cannot continue to drive the doctrine that the strike continues. I hereby tender my letter of resignation as NMA president.”

As reported yesterday by News Express, Dr. Obembe had in a statement issued late Thursday announced the suspension of the industrial action in the following words: “Government has made positive response to all our 24 demands, issued 10 circulars, MOU and letters of authority, and promised to kick start the payments on relativity and skipping within the next four working days.

“The pains, pangs, groans and cries of 170 million Nigerians cannot continue to be ignored. In view of the above, the ongoing strike of NMA, which commenced on July 1, 2014, was suspended on Wednesday, August 6, 2014.”

However, the ink on the paper through which Dr. Obembe broke the cheering news had yet to dry when NMA 1st Vice President, Dr. Titus Ibekwe, 2nd Vice President, Dr. Bartholomew Okorochukwu, Secretary General, Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki, National Treasurer, Dr. Abubakar Abdulrahaman, and Editor of NMJ, Dr. Francis A. Uba, said in another statement that an emergency delegates meeting of Wednesday, after viewing all the demands as having not yet been satisfactorily met by government, “upheld that the strike must continue until government does the needful.”

•Photo shows former NMA President, Dr. Kayode Obembe.

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