Health workers in Zamfara State, northern Nigeria are not taking the industrial action of their colleagues in other parts of the country lightly.

They could be embarking on a solidarity sit-at-home if the demands of are not met by the Nigerian government, Chairman of Medical Health Workers Union of Nigeria in Zamfara, Sabo Tsafe, has said.

The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, NANNM, have been on an indefinite strike since 13 November.

Tsafe’s threat came on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Gusau, the state capital on Saturday.

The chairman said they would join the strike if the Federal Government failed to respond to the demand of their colleagues.

He said that the union officials were in Abuja to meet with the federal government on the issue, adding that the outcome of their meeting would determine whether or not they would join the strike.

Dr. Bello Muhammad, Medical Director of Yerima Bakura Specialist Hospital, Gusau, however, said health workers in the hospital were reporting for work.

Muhammad commended the state health workers for not joining the strike.

“They are rendering assistance to sick people. I urge the federal government to answer the union’s request in order to save the lives of patients,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zamfara state owned hospitals in Gusau have been overwhelmed by large number of patients due to the strike by their federal counterparts.

Workers at Faridah, King Fahad, and Yerima Bakura Specialist Hospitals are having hectic time attending to people seeking medical attention.

Hajiya Medina Aliyu, a resident disclosed that she had some difficulties before child birth due to the strike by NANNM.

“I went to Yerima Bakura Hospital but there were many women in labour, including those that just delivered, so I had to wait for a long time before getting medical attention,” she explained.

Mrs. Gloria Daniel said when the doctors finished with her son’s surgery; he was discharged after 24 hours to create space for other patients.