By Sola Ogundipe & Chioma Obinna
LAGOS — Indications emerged, weekend, that some of the 788 doctors sacked by the Lagos State government are now lobbying to get reinstated.
Investigations by Vanguard revealed that some of the doctors have started responding to the queries they had earlier refused to respond to. They are banking on the support of top officials in the ministry to influence their reinstatement.
An impeccable source from the Lagos State Ministry of Health, disclosed to Vanguard that some of the doctors that are making moves under ground confessed that they were already tired of staying at home as they have mouths to feed and bills to pay.
The source who pleaded anonymity, further noted that top officials within the ministry were still considering using their influence to get the doctors reinstated.
It was also gathered that the doctors’ request might be granted since even the ministry have been having challenge recruiting new doctors.
Currently, many of the doctors were not happy with the recalcitrant position of their leaders on their agitation but were cooperating in order not to rock the boat of the struggle.
“Even the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, National President, Dr. Osahon Enabulele is not happy with position of the Medical Guild on the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS, issue but he is afraid that he might be impeached if he fails to dance to the tune of the doctors. I had a meeting with him last Thursday when he confided in me,” the source said.
According to him, the elders in the medical profession were not happy with the way the sacked doctors have turned strikes into object of blackmail, saying they were ready to call strikes at the slightest provocation, stating: “Even if you mistakenly hit one of them on the leg, they may decide to call for as strike.”
It’s an attempt to break our ranks - Odusote
But in a swift reaction, the Chairman of the Lagos Medical Guilds, the umbrella body of the sacked doctors, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote, described the insinuation that the doctors were lobbying to get reinstated by the state government as a blatant lie, saying “it is an attempt to break our ranks.”
AGPMPN begins free health services
Meanwhile, Chairman Association of General Private Medical Practitioners, AGPMPN, Lagos Chapter, Dr. Olayinka Oladosu has announced at the weekend that beginning from today, the association would start offering free health services especially emergency cases to residents of Lagos carrying the cards of public hospitals following the total collapse of health services in public hospitals across the state.
He said: “We have about 84 centres across the state where people can access free health across the state. The information at our disposal about loss of lives is alarming and we are grieving about this. These are the lives we cannot create. We believe the provision of this service will provide succor to the masses.”
Oladosu said the AGPMPN, Lagos State Branch would not seat back and go against the Hippocratic Oath that its members had sworn to. “The association is not forcing any of its members to create this succour lines. Similarly, no one is forcing the AGPMPN to do it.”
Giving a breakdown of the facility created to address the problem of total shut down of public health facilities in Lagos; Oladosu said there would be an average of seven centres to serve as succor lines in each local government in Lagos State.
Explaining why this plan became necessary, the National President of AGPMPN, Dr. Anthony Omolola described the situation in Lagos as a period of sober reflection. “It is a time to sympathise with Lagosians,”
According to Omolola, the information at the disposal of the leadership of the AGPMPN is that the loss of lives this period is quite alarming and is grieving members of the association because “We cannot make life and we should not make life to be departed.”
