A coalition of pressure groups under the aegis of Northern Youths Forum on Wednesday faulted the six weeks old strike by the Joint Health Sector Unions describing it as “politically motivated.”
The organisation alleged that the JOHESU strike was “induced by looters, fraudsters and economic saboteurs who have issues with President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration.
Addressing a joint press conference in Jos, the National Coordinator, Maimuna Abdullahi, and Secretary of the group, Saeed Siraj, believed that the strike was meant to scuttle the 2019 general elections.
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While sharing in the general belief that workers’ welfare, including conditions of service, salaries, and other emoluments should be the utmost of their employers, the group believed that the strike all was in a bid to score undue political points.
“We are bound to dissociate ourselves from the premeditated and politically sponsored strike by JOHESU which was wickedly designed to punish poor and innocent Nigerians, all in a bid to score undue political points.”
The organisation also described as embarrassing, “the ignorance displayed by JOHESU, saying they have appealed the court order.”
“It is absolutely illegal and unheard of, to file an appeal challenging an ex-parte order; ex-parte order can only be vacated. We use this medium to call on the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN, to charge the leadership of JOHESU extraction for contempt of court.
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“In the same vein, we admonish the management of all the medical facilities to lay off all erring members who have refused to report for duty as mandated by the Industrial court, this lawlessness must stop now.”
The group, therefore, advised the Federal Government and state governors to “take decisive action against self – seeking unions like JOHESU.”
“Let it be clearly stated that we cannot be taken for granted and that sovereignty belongs to us and that an association of less than 0.05 per cent of our population cannot continue to draw us backward as a nation,” they said.
