Delta doctors on strike over insecurity
UGHELLI – MEDICAL doctors in the service of Delta State Government, yesterday, declared an indefinite strike action in protest against the spate of insecurity in the state, following the increase in kidnap cases.They are also demanding the release of their colleague, Dr. Ngozi Chukwuebulim, attached to Warri Central Hospital, who was kidnapped in the early hours of Sunday.
Last week, a medical doctor at Ughelli Central Hospital, Dr Chris Oharisi, narrowly escaped being abducted at Akpodiete Street in the Ughelli metropolis.
Contacted, Chairman of Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Delta State chapter, Dr. Chuks Ossai-Abaniwa, said it was not a strike action, but a withdrawal of services.
A popular frozen fish businesswoman in the area and owner of Ovibi Sea Foods, Madam Sarman Ovibi, was kidnapped on her way to church on March 15, at same Akpodiete Street.
She was released last Friday after a ransom was allegedly paid. Residents of Ughelli and its environs have since lost count of incidences of kidnapping in the area. A resident of the area, who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity, blamed the spate of kidnapping on the Police.
He said the police in the area had failed in their responsibility of providing security for residents and called on the Inspector General of Police to declare a state of emergency on the security situation in Ughelli and other parts of the state.
Meanwhile, Dr.Ossai-Abaniwa, who spoke to Vanguard on phone said; “I will not call it a strike action. It is a withdrawal of service in protest against the kidnap of our colleague, Dr Chukwuebulim, who was kidnapped since Sunday morning in Warri.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/03/delta-doctors-on-strike-over-insecurity/
