Clinical staff at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, are set to begin an industrial action on February 3, 2025, following unresolved salary disputes.
The Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Southwest zone, issued the strike directive after a 21-day ultimatum to university vice-chancellors in the region expired without resolution. In a statement signed by its chairman, Dr. Olufemi Ogundipe, and general secretary, Dr. Tajudin Adetunji, the association expressed deep concern over the continued neglect of their demands.
At the heart of the issue is the placement of clinical lecturers on the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS), a structure already in place in other medical colleges across the country. MDCAN emphasized that the failure to implement this salary scale has created severe income disparities, leaving clinical lecturers at OAU significantly disadvantaged compared to their counterparts elsewhere.
Years of salary discrepancies have taken a toll, and MDCAN insists that immediate adoption of the CONMESS salary structure is the only viable solution. Without this, the strike will proceed as planned, disrupting medical services at OAUTHC and potentially impacting healthcare delivery across the region.
“We are demanding the immediate payment of CONMESS to all clinical lecturers in OAU to save the future of medical education in the foremost citadel of learning. While calling on the management of OAU to act swiftly, the association lamented the dearth of clinical lecturers and the dwindling fortunes of medical education in the country, blaming the development on the nonchalant attitude of the authorities to challenges ravaging the nation’s health sector,” MDCAN stated.
The looming strike raises serious concerns for final-year dental students, whose exams have already begun. A clinical lecturer at OAU, speaking anonymously, highlighted the potential consequences:
“The Dental final-year examination commenced on Monday and will be badly affected by the strike if urgent measures are not taken to avert it. Other professional exams scheduled to hold in February may also be in jeopardy. Our resolve as an association is to go ahead with the strike. And with that position, the effects on students’ examinations and other academic activities are better imagined than experienced.”
With no resolution in sight, the fate of medical education at OAU hangs in the balance, and the wider healthcare system in the region could face serious disruptions in the coming weeks.
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