Welfare: Akwa Ibom doctors threaten strike

Umo

The Nigerian Medical Association, Akwa Ibom State chapter, has threatened to embark on strike if the state government fails to address the welfare concerns of doctors, particularly those working at the Ibom Specialist Hospital.

The state Chairman of the NMA, Dr. Aniekan Peter, issued the warning on Sunday while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the association’s 2025 Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference Dinner Night in Uyo.

Peter urged Governor Umo Eno to urgently set up a committee to review and harmonise the salaries of doctors at the Ibom Specialist Hospital, stressing that the association was preparing to issue an ultimatum to the government.

“Akwa Ibom State Government should set up a committee to harmonise the salaries of doctors at Ibom Specialist Hospital urgently. We will soon issue an ultimatum to the government over the poor conditions of service and the salaries of doctors at Ibom Specialist Hospital,” he said.

He also lamented the situation at St. Luke Hospital, Anua, managed by the Catholic Church, saying the Church should hand it over to the government if it could no longer effectively manage the facility.

The NMA chairman expressed dissatisfaction with the general conditions of service and called for a 100 per cent salary increment to motivate doctors in the state. He recalled that during the administration of former Governor Godswill Akpabio, medical doctors were given cars as incentives, but such benefits had since stopped. Punch