A heavily pregnant woman who was booked for a cesarean session died earlier today while waiting for doctors to attend to her as all hospitals owned by the Nasarawa State Government commenced a five-day warning strike.

Medical services were paralysed in the state-owned health institutions as a result of a strike declared by the Nigerian Medical Association.

This follows a 21-day ultimatum issued by the state branch of the Nigerian Medical Association for the state government to address their demands .

The State Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Attah Peter, said the body embarked on the warning due to the failure of the state government to implement  promotion of doctors and annual increments salaries, the non-implementation of the National Minimum Wage, and the non payment of hazard allowances.

He added that they resorted to striking as their last recourse after the state government failed to meet their demands until the expiration of the association’s 21-day ultimatum on June 13, 2023.

Dr. Attah Peter indicated that the doctors, including their colleagues from the Federal Medical Centre Keffi, would go on strike indefinitely if the state administration did not meet their demands before the end of the five-day warning strike.

Radio Nigeria reported that patients at the Nasarawa State Government-owned Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia, particularly those in serious condition, were seen being transported to private facilities and neighboring states for further medical care.

In an interview, Mallam Abubakar Liman, whose pregnant wife died while waiting for medical specialists to perform a cesarean section on her, noted that they decided to come to the government-owned facility because they couldn’t pay the medical bills at private hospitals.

Mallam Liman, who said he accepted the deaths of his wife and unborn child as an act of God, urged the state government to meet the demands of the doctors as soon as possible in the interest of the less privileged.

At the time of filing this report, officials of the Nigerian Medical Association, led by the state chairman, Dr. Attah Peter, were seen going round all sections of the hospitals to ensure full compliance with the strike.