The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has rejected the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the Federal Government presented to the union.

NARD National President Okhuaihesuyi Uyilawa said this while addressing reporters at the end of a closed-door meeting with the Federal Government and other relevant stakeholders yesterday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) led the striking doctors to a meeting summoned at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve the current strike by doctors across the country.

NAN recalls that the resident doctors embarked on an indefinite strike on August 1 to press home the issues of agitation amongst their members.

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Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige had, on August 13, handed over the trade dispute between the government and NARD to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria for adjudication.

Uyilawa said NARD refused to sign the MoU that was brokered by its parent body, the NMA, and the Federal Government due to an undisclosed clause.

“We rejected the MoU. We didn’t sign it because we feel we are being punished for the failures of those in government,” he said.

The NARD president said the nationwide strike would continue and that the union members would proceed with the court case.

He added that NARD leadership has to present the new MoU to its members before he could sign the document.

Ngige said all other unions in the negotiation, including the NMA and the Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria (MDCN), have signed the new agreement.

He said the meeting did not discuss the issue of ‘No Work, No Pay’, adding that all the parties at the meeting agreed to an out-of-court settlement.