FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
Doctors in Edo State under the umbrella of Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria, MDCAN, have embarked on a two-day warning strike, following the alleged imposition of Nelson Tenebe as the Executive Secretary of Edo State Hospital Management Agency, ESHMA.
His appointment by Governor Monday Okpebholo was allegedly influenced by intense lobbying by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, sparking widespread outrage and controversy within the healthcare system.
Doctors and other stakeholders in the sector, outraged by the appointment, which they described as “politically motivated,” had warned of its disastrous consequences on healthcare delivery and threatened to shut down the system if the decision is not reversed.
The healthcare professionals in a letter to the governor urged him to approve Dr Christopher Ehiagwina as the Executive Secretary of the agency as agreed during their meeting on January 22.
In the letter signed by Drs Clement Ikponmwen and Osaronse Anthony Aghimien, Chairman and Secretary of MDCAN, respectively, they urged the governor to implement the agreement.
The warning strike, which has already begun, will take a toll on healthcare services across the state, with public hospitals scaling down operations.
Non-emergency cases are being turned away, leaving patients and their families frustrated.
Many have resorted to alternative medicine or sought treatment at private hospitals.
