Members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike.
President of NARD, Dr Aliyu Sokomba, made this known in Abuja while addressing the press on Monday.
According to him, members working in various COVID-19 isolation and treatment centres across the country will join in the strike after two weeks
He noted the industrial action was resolved at after series of failed meetings between doctors and the Federal Government in the last two weeks.
He stated part of their grievances as non-payment of special allowances for resident doctors, deplorable state of hospitals and lack of protective equipment for members of the union treating COVID-19 patients.
This the medical doctor said has exposed colleagues to COVID-19 and avoidable deaths.
Earlier, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, has warned that Nigeria cannot afford any reduction in the number of available doctors, now that the country is faced with the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is made worse by the fact that COVID-19 has reached the community transmission stage in Nigeria.
