Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

Dr. Kayode Obembe, president of the Nigeria Medical Association, has resigned.

His resignation came today as his association appears split over whether to call off their five-week old strike, amidst the declaration of a national emergency by President Goodluck Jonathan over the deadly Ebola virus epidemic.

The NMA which has been on strike before Nigeria recorded its first case of Ebola announced yesterday that it had called off its strike in response to appeals for members of the association to return to work to help the country tame the raging virus. 

Obembe: Quits NMA post

The NMA had through a statement signed by its President, Dr. Kayode Obembe,  on Thursday announced that the five-week nationwide strike had been called off effective from Wednesday night.

The association said it called off the strike to enable its members help alleviate the hardship the frequent terror attacks is putting on the people as well as the recent outbreak of Ebola, brought into Lagos by a Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, who is now dead.

However, some of his colleagues countered the statement, saying the statement does not reflect the decision taking at the meeting in Abuja where the strike was reviewed and therefore, insisted that the strike must continue.

Concerned about the attitude of his colleagues to the outbreak of  in the country,  Dr. Obembe on Friday tendered his resignation letter as the President of NMA.(Read Obembe’s letter here)

Dr. Obembe, said in the letter that he took the option of resignation because he could not compromise his “honour and integrity.”

The letter dated August 8, 2014 and titled “CLARIFICATION” reads in full:

“There has been a request for clarification about the two postings from the NMA secretariat on the NMA blog.

“I want to make it categorically cleared that I stand by the very letter of the document that I signed- “THAT THE STRIKE WAS SUSPENDED”.

“And since upon my INTEGRITY AND HONOUR, I cannot continue to drive the doctrine that “STRIKE CONTINUES”, I hereby tender my letter of resignation as NMA President.

“WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN, I HAVE WRITTEN,” he concluded.