The ongoing tussle between doctors working for the Lagos State Government and the state government has seen a sharp spike in public interest ever since the state government sacked a significant number of its doctors.
Now, prominent lawyers of the nation are calling for an intervention by the federal government in the crisis that has seen a total standstill in the health sector of the state.
Admitting that the Federal Government had limited powers in the administration of the state hospital, the lawyers insisted that it was acceptable for the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to mediate the crisis, an act that the lawyers have condoned. The Minister for Labour and Productivity, Mr. Emeka Wogu, had earlier stated that he was in talks with the Nigerian Medical Association, the National Association of Resident Doctors and the state government as an arbitrator of peace.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, has approved of the minister’s gesture towards reconciliation but has added that the constitution did not provide room for absolute power in the situation by the Federal Government. Other lawyer have also supported the action, citing the increase in the deaths of patients and the sick in the state.
