Following the incessant industrial actions embarked upon by medical personnel, and its attendant devastating effects on the poor masses of the country, five unions of the Allied Health Workers in Nigeria’s health sector have dragged the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and its national President, Dr. Kayode Obembe, before the National Industrial Court (NIC) sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

The suing unions are: Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSATHRIAI), Nigerian Union of Health Professionals (NUAHP) and Non Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU).

They are seeking, among other reliefs: a perpetual injunction restraining the NMA members from embarking on any form of industrial action, be it work- to- rule or any form of protest that will prevent them from rendering their professional services to the general public.

The unions aver that NMA and its national President were not trade union organisations, pleading with the court to declare its members’ last July nationwide strike illegal, unconstitutional, unprofessional and ultra vires.