The House of Representatives says it will invoke a “warrant of arrest” if the registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Tajudeen Sanusi, fails again to appear before its Committee on Health Care Services on Friday.
Sanusi had failed to appear before the committee on Thursday to answer questions on the ongoing strike by resident doctors.
The doctors had embarked on strike last week over nonpayment of outstanding salary arrears, upward review of current allowance to 50 percent of consolidated basic salaries of all health workers, outstanding COVID-19 inducement allowance, among other issues.
Chairman of the Committee, Tanko Sununu said the MDCN registrar failed to honour an invitation on a national emergency while attending a personal engagement.
“We sent out invitations to all major stakeholders to attend this meeting. Unfortunately he refused to appear,” he said.
“Because he is a major stakeholder, we have decided to call off the meeting today and summon him to appear unfailingly before us by 9am on Friday, failure of which we will be left with no option than to invoke all the necessary powers of the National Assembly including the warrant of arrest on the Registrar.
“We cannot watch while people are suffering. We also call on the striking doctors to please temper justice with mercy. Everybody believes that your demands are genuine, but there are processes to achieve them.”