Ehanire Meets With Resident Doctors Assures Them That Their Interests Will Be Protected


Posted on: Sat 19-11-2022

Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has charged the newly elected EXCOs of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to be focused and maintain positive attitudes while discharging their duties.

When the NARDs Executives paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja, led by its President Dr Emeka Orji, the minister expressed the government’s willingness to collaborate with the Association for the benefit of the general public.

Ehanire assured the Resident Doctors that their interests will be well protected, considering that the Ministry is predominantly run by Professionals in the Medical field, who have been in their shoes at some point, and also understand their plight.

He said, “We do represent the Medical Profession, most of us are Medical Professionals, we went through what you went through… we are not strangers to what you are feeling, it’s not new and it is not foreign, therefore, we can understand you very well. But we must work together, we must cooperate, we must try and see each other’s points of view because if there is anybody who is going to be on your side, it is us. First, because we are in the same profession, and we have the same responsibility, which is to patients, and secondly, because we represent the government, we are like in between”.

The minister congratulated the EXCO for being found worthy of their new appointments. He also encouraged them to strive for excellence.“You must be able to be adaptive enough to be able to know that we play different roles at different points and that at any given moment you have the responsibility, beyond just being members of NARD, you are members of the larger community, you are members of government, you are members of the “THINK TANK” of the country and at the minimum of this level, you have the possibility and capacity to make suggestions for the wellbeing of the country,” he said.

On his part, the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Mahmuda Mamman, ably represented by the Director, of Public Health, Dr Alex Okoh while congratulating the newly inaugurated EXCOs, noted with disappointment, the absence of female representation among the EXCOs and appealed that they should be included in the affairs of the Association in the nearest future

Earlier, the President of NARD stated that the EXCOs’ visit was aimed at paying homage to the Honourable Minister, having been recently inaugurated. He commended the Minister and his team for what they have been able to do in the healthcare sector.

He also took advantage of the visit to discuss a number of issues bothering on the backlog of salary arrears, training allowances, brain drain, and accommodation among others.