The leadership of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has expressed its displeasure over the ruling of the National Industrial Court (NIC) directing its members to return to work with immediate effect.
The resident doctors who said that they are not satisfied with the ruling of the court and were denied fair hearing, instructed its lawyers to appeal the judgement and file an application of stay of execution, according to ChannelsTV.
The reaction follows the ruling of Justice Bashar Alkali who ordered the resident doctors to suspend their ongoing industrial action and return to work immediately, pending the determination of the substantive suit brought by the federal government.
This was made known in a communique jointly signed by NARD President, Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, and its Secretary-General, Dr Jerry Isogun, on Friday revealing that the doctors have begun the process to appeal the ruling.
What the leadership of NARD is saying
NARD in its statement said, “As we are all aware, especially those that were present in court today (Friday), the NIC has given a ruling on the application for interlocutory injunction filed by the Federal Government. We are not satisfied with the ruling.
“After consultations with our lawyers, we have instructed our lawyers to appeal the ruling and file an application for stay of execution.”
Justice Alkali who ruled on an application by the government had also directed parties in the matter to return to the negotiating table, saying no amount of money could compensate for the loss of lives as a result of the impasse.
Resident doctors accuse the court of denial of fair hearing
NARD accused the court of denial of a fair hearing by refusing to hear and determine its Notice of Preliminary Objection (NPO) before taking the government’s application for interlocutory injunction.
It expressed its displeasure with the court’s decision and instructed its lawyers to file necessary processes, rather than ask members to return to work.
The association said, “We are committed to protecting your rights within the confines of the law. We believe justice shall be ours ultimately.
“Also, our lawyers drew the attention of the court to our application for stay of execution of the ex parte order and that the court should take that application first. The court insisted that the government application would be taken first.
“On 15/9/21, the court ordered all parties to resume negotiations. The government refused to resume negotiations in line with the order of 23/8/21. Our lawyers reported this development to the court. We have demonstrated good faith and would continue to do so.’’
