NMA Threatens Strike In Two Akwa Ibom Hospitals

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Akwa Ibom State branch, has threatened to withdraw the services of its members working in Ibom Multi-Specialist Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital, Anua, Uyo, if their welfare continues to be neglected.

The doctors, under the umbrella of the state chapter of the NMA, accused the management of the two hospitals of subjecting them to poor working conditions and paying what they described as “pittance” as salaries.

Rising from its weeklong 2025 Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference in Uyo, the association urged the state government to immediately set up committees to ensure that doctors in the affected hospitals are placed on a salary scale and condition of service comparable with what obtains in the state civil service.

Speaking with reporters, the State Chairman of NMA, Dr. Aniekan Peter, lamented that doctors in St Luke’s Hospital Anua were paid “slave wages” and insisted that the facility should be returned to government ownership if its management could not afford decent remuneration.

“A situation where doctors are paid as low as N150,000 is ridiculous. The NMA will not accept that. We are going to take decisive action against St Luke’s Hospital if this continues,” he warned.

On Ibom Multi-Specialist Hospital, Peter decried the stagnation of medical staff in the facility.
“People have worked there for years without promotion or salary increment. It is unacceptable. We will soon issue an ultimatum and withdraw our members’ services,” he stated.

He appealed to Governor Umo Eno to prioritise the welfare of medical personnel alongside the administration’s massive investment in health infrastructure.
“You can’t build infrastructure without the workforce. Both must go side by side,” he stressed.

The NMA boss also disclosed that the association had urged the governor to upgrade the Ibom Multi-Specialist Hospital to a full-fledged Ibom Medical University to serve as a training ground for doctors, medical laboratory scientists, physiotherapists, and other health professionals.

While commending the appointment of three NMA members into the State Executive Council as commissioners and special advisers, Dr. Peter revealed that the association had begun a state-wide sensitisation campaign across churches in the 31 local government areas to tackle maternal and child mortality.