NARD begins warning strike, demands immediate rescue of kidnapped member

• Says insecurity fuelling encephalon drain, tasks FG
• Popoola is alive, relation confirms

Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has embarked connected a seven-day informing onslaught implicit the abduction of their colleague, Dr. Ganiyat Popoola, a Registrar successful the Department of Ophthalmology, National Eye Centre, Kaduna State.
 
The aesculapian practitioner was kidnapped on with her hubby and nephew by bandits who raided the unit quarters of the hospital, connected December 27, 2023.
 

While her hubby has been released since March, the doc and her nephew were inactive successful captivity astatine the clip of filing this report.
 
NARD President, Dr Dele Abdullahi, said the informing strike, which was decided connected during an exigency gathering of the National Executive Council (NEC), would statesman by midnight of Monday, August 26.
 
“The onslaught is not to punish anyone, but an outcry. The relation has been connected a protestation for the past 2 weeks to get a desired response. The information agencies are not pulling their weight. We powerfully consciousness that overmuch tin beryllium done; hence, we commencement with this informing onslaught to property location our demand.
 
“Hopefully, by Sunday adjacent week, we volition beryllium resuming, based connected the activities of the information agencies connected whether to telephone it disconnected oregon to proceed connected an indefinite strike. The request is simple; the unconditional and consecutive merchandise of Popoola and the request for the authorities to hasten this process,” helium told The Guardian.
 
President, NARD, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute Metta, Lagos, Dr Onyinye Lazson, confirmed to The Guardian that nonmigratory doctors would not beryllium successful the hospital, adding: “We person different cadres of doctors that volition beryllium moving the hospitals.”

ALSO, NARD, University College Hospital (UCH) chapter, yesterday, called on the Federal Government to bash each wrong its powerfulness to rescue the victim.
 
The President, Dr John Oladapo, told The Guardian in Ibadan that the subdivision was joining the seven-day informing onslaught to property location the demand.
 
He said: “We are joining the onslaught to property location the merchandise of our colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola, who was trained present and hails from Iseyin successful Oyo State. We spot successful the capableness of the authorities to rescue her. The abduction draws attraction to 1 of the issues starring to encephalon drain successful the wellness sector. She indispensable beryllium released immediately.”
 
Members of the relation had earlier protested successful each tertiary hospitals crossed the federation to request Popoola’s release.

MEANWHILE, President of NARD, Dr Dele Abdullahi, has confirmed that Popoola is inactive live but has nary bully quality astir her health.
 
He urged the Federal Government to intervene and prevention her beingness from her abductors, arsenic members of NARD astatine the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), yesterday, joined the strike.
 
All the sections of UITH were affected by the strike, forcing consultants, nurses and different wellness workers to bash much shifts to span the gap created by the strike.
 
There was nary panic discharge of patients and nary was turned backmost astatine the outpatients’ conception of the hospital.
 
The spokesperson of UITH, who is besides the Head of Corporate Affairs Unit (CAU), Mrs E.O. Ajiboye, said the absorption would guarantee that the onslaught would not impact the creaseless moving of the hospital.

However, Abdullahi told The Guardian, yesterday: “Our negotiator is trying his champion for us. A fewer hours ago, we heard her dependable connected the tape, pleading for her release. The code of the dependable suggests that her wellness information is not good. The authorities should instrumentality implicit this dialog and fto our workfellow regain her freedom. It is astir 8 months now. We are not blessed with this development.”
 
On erstwhile the onslaught would apt beryllium suspended, helium said, “if she regains her state now, we volition respond promptly by suspending the strike. We person nary pleasance successful going connected strike. We are trained to prevention lives. We are alert of the Hippocratic Oath we took.”