The House of Representatives has intervened in the face-off between the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Federal Ministry of Health.

To broker peace between the warring parties, the House mandated its Committee on Health intervene in the industrial crisis.

 

The committee is expected to report the outcome of the intervention to the House within a week.

The House resolution followed a motion moved under matters of urgent national importance by Minority Whip Samson Osagie (APC, Edo).

 

In the motion, titled: ‘Urgent Need To Resolve the Crisis in the Health Sector’, Osagie urged the NMA and its members to call off their strike “in view of the critical and fundamental nature of their calling to the lives of the citizenry”.

 

The lawmaker urged the Federal Government “to do everything possible …to have this crisis abated in the interest of the citizens of this country”.

 

He added: “From the NMA perspective, a number of issues, including the appointment of the Surgeon-General for the Federation, the payment of hazard allowances to doctors, retirement age of doctors, expansion of the NHIS (National Health Insurance Scheme) to cover a wider spectrum of the society, among others, are also some of the issues that the National Assembly (has) passed resolutions on.”

 

According to him, given the critical state of insecurity in Nigeria, Nigerians are at risk during emergencies, if medical services are not made available.