The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has taken a swipe at the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Governors’ (APC) Forum, Salihu Lukman, who berated the Minister for his lethargy in handling labour matters, which the DG said, led to the strike in the health sector and consequent loss of lives for withdrawal of medical services.

Ngige in a statement decried that the statement credited to Salihu Lukman, DG, APC Governors Forum, was “nauseating, malicious and nonsensical.”

Ngige further protested that Lukman’s statement was a display of grave ignorance and crass emptiness on the ongoing strike of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), including the impasse between the Kaduna State Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Ngige was if the view that “Lukman must have spoken either out of ignorance or malicious intent to smear the two respected members of the federal cabinet who had put in sleepless nights, engaging in meaningful negotiations, to ensure industrial peace in the Health Sector at this critical period of COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Labour Minister condemned the statement by the DG that: “it is shocking and outrageously incredible for somebody in his right mind to say that the two Ministers, who are both experienced medical doctors, were unable to proactively pre-empt strikes in the Health Sector.

Ngige stated that the NARD did not issue any strike notice in accordance with the Trade Disputes Act, arguing that there is nothing like “resumption of a suspended strike;” declaring that it is in order to invoke Section 43 of the Act on No Work no pay.

The minister argued that as essential workers, the resident doctors are not expected to go on strike without giving at least 15 days’ notice to the Minister.

Ngige declared that Lukman has, therefore, displayed his shallow knowledge of labour dispute resolution and management by alleging that Ministers Ngige and Ehanire could have proactively stopped the strike and even went further to castigate Ngige over the Kaduna State Government/NLC dispute, which led to a four-day strike.

Ngige stated that beside signing a Memorandum of Understanding in the case of the NLC/KADUNA Government face-off, everything brought by NLC against the Kaduna State Government was earlier forwarded to Governor El-Rufai.