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The Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association (MDCAN) at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital has directed its members to embark on industrial action starting Monday, February 3, 2025. This decision follows the refusal of Vice Chancellors at three federal universities in the South-West region to place clinical lecturers on the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS), a benefit already enjoyed by their counterparts in other Nigerian universities.

According to a statement signed by OAU MDCAN Chairman, Dr. Olufemi Ogundipe, and General Secretary, Dr. Tajudin Adetunji, the strike notice was preceded by a 21-day ultimatum given to the vice chancellors of the affected universities. During the strike, all academic activities at the College of Health Sciences involving clinical lecturers will be put on hold.

The association emphasized that its members can no longer tolerate the huge disparity in emoluments and several years of income loss due to the non-implementation of CONMESS. “We are demanding the immediate payment of CONMESS to all clinical lecturers in OAU to save the future of medical education in the foremost citadel of learning,” the statement read.

A consultant at OAUTH, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed concerns that the strike may coincide with the commencement of final-year examinations for dental students, scheduled for Monday. “The dental final-year examination will commence on Monday and will be badly affected by the strike if urgent measures are not taken to avert it,” he said.

In response, OAU Public Relations Officer Abiodun Olanrewaju stated that the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Simeon Bamire, was unavailable but promised to look into the matter. Olanrewaju assured that the VC prioritizes staff and student welfare and would not deliberately deny workers their rights.

“Our VC is people-friendly and prioritizes the welfare of staff and students, and I don’t think the VC will deliberately not want to implement CONMESS. Let’s see how the event unfolds because we will not deliberately do financial injustice to those who are due for it,” Olanrewaju said.

However, the consultant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed doubts about the university’s willingness to implement CONMESS. “The dental final-year examination will commence on Monday and will be badly affected by the strike if urgent measures are not taken to avert it. Other professional exams scheduled to be held in February may also be in jeopardy.

“Our resolve as an association is to go ahead with the strike. And with that position, the effects on students’ examinations and other academic activities are better imagined than experienced,” he stated.

The MDCAN chairman, Dr. Olufemi Ogundipe, also reiterated the association’s commitment to the strike. “We have given the university enough time to implement CONMESS, but they have failed to do so. We have no choice but to take this action to protect the welfare of our members,” he said.

The strike is expected to affect academic activities at the College of Health Sciences, including lectures, examinations, and clinical postings. The university authorities are yet to officially respond to the strike notice, but students and parents are already expressing concerns about the potential disruption to academic activities.

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