Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) appealed to doctors and health workers to desist from  using strike actions as a means of meeting their demands. Speaking at the second convocation ceremony of the Lagos State College of Health Technology located in Yaba area of the state, the governor who approved immediate employment of all the 265 graduates of the college to work  in the State Primary Health Care (PHC), said carnages from such industrial  actions negate their professional calling.

 

" Medical workers from the lowest medical worker to the highest in the chain of command and the team, you are like gods on earth. Only sick people who  have been ill knows your importance," he said.

 

Fashola pointed that workers in other sub- sector of the nation's economy are not satisfied with their remuneration , saying they are not holding governments by  the jugular because they do not want the Nigerian state to fail.

 

He commended the management of the college for the good job and the impact the new graduants will bring to the health sector.

 

He said, "What delights me most is that we are producing graduates in areas where the Lagos economy has a compelling need, the primary healthcare, the primary healthcare development.

 

"We are producing graduates who will help us achieve our objectives. So therefore in order to show that we are ready to work our talk I have indicated and now say publicly that all of the graduating students today will be immediately employed by our government. We will work the process . We will go to the House of Assembly if it is necessary to raise supplementary budget  to funds this . But I make this commitment to you as a matter of honour."

 

He emphasised that the state government primary objective is to make sure that hospitals are not  filled because they  ensure abinitio that the people do not fall sick.

 

Fashola added the state government will readily grant autonomy to the governing councils and management running  institutions in the state ,saying the government will only intervene in their affairs only  when it becomes inevitable.

 

He said." Believe me, no governor no president wants to be involved in day to day running of institutions. That is why there are Vice Chancellors , provosts, lecturers. and governing councils. Let's ask ourselves almost too often when there are problems in the schools where do the students and lecturers run to, they run to the government. This is a shared responsibility and I say here that when the request to grant this institution autonomy that it requires get to me I will approve it immediately I receive it.

 

"Let me make it clear that granting autonomy does not mean it is no longer our school . It does not mean we will not support it. It does not mean we will not invest in it . But the truth is that we do not want to be involved in day to day running of our schools. It requires a lot of woke, time consuming and distracting . I hope this message will be well receive by all our institutions."

 

He added that if there is need for a legislation to back the  autonomy craved by the institutions he will support the process to yield the responsibility to the management of the school.

 

By Benson Akomo

Worldstagegroup