Just In: 59 Doctors Resign in Nasarawa, Give Reason

Just In: 59 Doctors Resign in Nasarawa, Give Reason

  • Mass resignation has hit Nasarawa state as a total of 59 medical doctors withdrew their services
  • The aggrieved doctors working with Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH) in the state resigned from their positions, citing poor welfare
  • Interestingly, 20 doctors departed the country to seek greener pastures abroad, while 39 made their cases known

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

Nasarawa, Lafia - No fewer than 59 medical doctors working with Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Lafia, have withdrawn their services from the Nasarawa state government.

Nasarawa state government, medical doctors
Nasarawa doctors lament poor welfare. For illustration purposes only. Photo: Emmanuel Osodi/Majority World/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

They cited the non-implementation of hazard allowances and poor condition of service in the last three months as the reason for their action, Daily Trust reported.

Twenty aggrieved doctors relocated abroad, while 39 resigned due to poor service conditions.

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A top government official in DASH, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the development. He said they received over 25 resignation letters from doctors within two days.

Reacting to the development, the president of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) in Nasarawa state, Dr Yakubu Adeleke, said:

“Doctors in Nasarawa state have been stagnated. No promotion. Some doctors have been working for eight years without promotion.”

Dr Adeleke added that the recent massive resignation of the doctors would put more pressure on the state’s health system, Radio Nigeria reported.

Meanwhile, some of the doctors who spoke to newsmen in the state said they had run out of patience.

This came a few weeks after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced that his government would pump N50 billion into the nation's health sector as the first tranche of the Basic Healthcare Fund, a significant increase from N25bn allocated in 2022.

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The coordinating minister of health and social welfare, Prof. Alli Pate, confirmed the development on Wednesday, February 28.

Nigerian doctors to be stopped from relocating abroad?

A bill aimed at curbing the migration of Nigerian-trained medical and dental practitioners to foreign countries passed second reading at the House of Representatives on Thursday, April 6.

The bill proposes that medical practitioners must have worked for at least five years in the country before being granted full licenses.

This is to address the increasing number of doctors leaving Nigeria in search of better opportunities abroad.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Esther Odili avatar

Esther Odili (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Esther Odili is a journalist and a Politics/Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng with 6+ years of experience. She Holds OND and HND in Mass Communication from the Nigerian Institue of Journalism (NIJ), where she was recognized as the best student in print journalism in 2018. Before joining Legit.ng, Esther has worked with other reputable media houses, such as the New Telegraph newspaper and Galaxy Television. In 2024, Esther obtained a certificate in advanced digital reporting from the Google News Initiative. Email: esther.odili@corp.legit.ng.