JUTH crisis: Resident doctors protest against sacking of members

From Abubakar Musa, Jos

Resident doctors of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), have staged a peaceful protest, demanding the reinstatement of their members whom were said to have been sacked by the management of the hospital.
The resident doctors have accused the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Edmund Banwat of ignoring court order which was claimed to have been issued by the National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja, presided over by Honourable Justice Waziri Abali.
According to the President of Association of Resident Doctors of JUTH, Dr Paul Agbo, who spoke to journalists in Jos during the protest said, “the CMD had continued to sack his members by withholding the salaries of the affected doctors and preventing them from continuing with their postings.
“The CMD has continued to ignore the court order mandating him to stop further sack of the resident doctors. This is done by withholding the salaries of the affected doctors and preventing them from continuing with their posting.
But when contacted on the allegation, the CMD denied the allegation, saying that it was not true.
He said, “ The Residency Training Programme has a duration. Here in JUTH is six years and in most teaching hospitals across the country is six years. After six years, you exit.
“ Six years you come into the prograramme and by six years you exit. But if you are doing sub-special Training, you add one year to make seven and this has been the practice for years. So, it is the point of exit that they call it sacking. We don’t sack anybody here No single doctor has been sacked, “ the CMD added.
Bangwat further denied withholding salaries of any doctor saying even those that claimed to have been sent out of the system , their duration of stay in hospital has been expired and their salary had to be stopped.