Peter Obi Defends Handling of 13-Month Doctors’ Strike in Anambra

Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has defended his administration’s handling of a 13-month doctors’ strike during his tenure, saying he inherited a healthcare system with serious infrastructure and accreditation challenges.

Obi spoke at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Rivers State, where he recalled the condition of the state’s health sector when he assumed office.

According to the former governor, Anambra had no accredited school of nursing, while its university lacked a teaching hospital and several hospitals were not accredited.

“Doctors were on strike for 13 months and the only thing the doctors have never said is why they went on strike,” Obi said.

He explained that his administration initially channelled funds into general hospitals in an attempt to improve healthcare delivery but later changed its approach after encountering difficulties.

“So I decided after several months to deal with our doctors, so I put money in general hospitals, then they transferred it somewhere else. Then I decided I’m going to work with the agencies, schools owned by the churches, and I started funding them, then they started saying I’m supporting private sectors,” he said.

Reflecting on the prolonged industrial action, Obi questioned the impact of the doctors’ absence from public hospitals during the period.

“We had a disagreement. If the doctors were very effective, in 13 months there was no mass death, that means something is missing because after 13 months we are still alive and they were on strike,” he said.

Obi maintained that the decisions taken by his administration ultimately produced lasting improvements in the state’s healthcare sector.

He said Anambra now had a significantly larger number of accredited schools of nursing and three teaching hospitals, which he attributed to the policies implemented during his tenure.

“Go to Anambra State today, we have the highest number of schools of nursing, we have three teaching hospitals because of that decision I took,” he said