THE Coalition of Yoruba Self Determination Group (COSEG) has cautioned the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) to reconsider its plan to embark on a sympathy strike with sacked medical doctors in Lagos State.
The group, at a press conference yesterday in Lagos, said such move would further compound issues between the state government and the doctors and “innocent patients seeking medical attention will continue to suffer.”
In a statement, jointly signed by Chairman, Dayo Ogunlana, and Secretary Razaq Oloko-Oba, COSEG said the action, apart from worsening matters, could be interpreted to mean, “hitting back at the state government that ordered NUPENG’s tankers off Apapa Expressway.”
Insisting there is no need for blackmail, COSEG said NUPENG should be a mediator rather than make move that amounts to taking side in the dispute.
The group advised NUPENG to emulate mediatory gestures by bodies such as the NBA, NMA, NUJ and civil society groups.
According to COSEG, any strike would be a contradiction because “it is the masses you want to fight for that would suffer.”
It appealed to Governor Babatunde Fashola, “in his noble characteristic, to temper justice” with mercy, and called on the doctors to sheathe their swords, adding: “salaries can be paid in arrears but lost lives can never be brought back.”
Meanwhile, the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, through its Chairman, Dr. Olayinka Oladosu, has called for a summit of all stakeholders in the health sector towards resolving the stalemate between the Lagos State Government and striking medical doctors. Oladosu spoke at the Surulere office of the association at the weekend in Lagos.
