The national president of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Osahon Enabulele, has announced the end of the on-going warning strike embarked upon by the body to protest refusal of the federal government to honour an agreement to improve their welfare and increase funding for the sector.

Enabulele said in a statement on Sunday that all doctors in the public health sector would resume full services with effect from 8.00 a.m. on Monday, December 23.

“NMA wishes to inform the general public that doctors in the public health sector will resume services from December 23. This is in line with our earlier promise to give prime consideration to the Yuletide season in the prosecution of our warning strike,” he announced.

The NMA president said the call-off action is also to give another opportunity for the federal government to fulfil its promise and urged that the opprotunity is utilised.

“Nigerian doctors shall not hesitate to commence a full blown strike from 8.00 a.m. on January 6, 2014, if government does not satisfactorily resolve the demands of doctors,” he warned.

The demand includes appropriate funding of Nigeria’s healthcare system, expansion of universal health coverage to cover all Nigerians and health infrastructure upgrade.

The NMA had on December 15 directed its members to embark on the nationwide strike which paralysed health care delivery in all the government-owned hospitals nationwide during the five-day strike by medical doctors.

Some patients placed on admission at the Garki and National Hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, were forced to seek medicare elsewhere as they were prematurely discharged.