The Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) has threatened to ground the health sector, if appropriate authorities refuse to meet its demands before July 31.

By tomorrow, Nigerians will know if the threat is empty or not.

The group issued a communiqué in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in June.

The union said its members would begin a nationwide strike, if its demands are not met by the end of a 21-day ultimatum, which will elapse tomorrow.

Among the demands is that no university lecturer should be appointed as a Chief Medical Director (CMD) of any teaching hospital.

NUAHP also said CMDs and Medical Directors (MDs) should not be advertised in the media because the actual contents of the governing law on tertiary hospitals would have been altered and wrongly interpreted.

It added: "We disagree with the recently constituted Hospital Management Boards and asks for their immediate dissolution as it contravenes the provisions of decree 10 of 1985 now Act U15 LFN 2004.

"The National Executive Council (NEC) calls for equitable representation of registered Unions and Assembly of Health Professional Associations on each Board of Management."

It also called for the abolition of the Office of Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee and Deputy Head of Clinical Services in some tertiary hospitals.

NUAHP added: "We request the immediate promotion of qualified Deputy Directors who have stagnated to Directors in line with extant schemes of service and the circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Health in June 2012.

"All union members are advised to apply for such vacancies wherever they exist provided they are qualified clinical health professionals such as: physiotherapists, pharmacists, medical laboratory scientists, dietitians and radiographers, among others."

The group said the Federal Ministry of Health should convene a stakeholder's conference to agree on guidelines for appointing chief executives for tertiary health institutions and medical advisory committee in to prevent the act of multiple and wrong interpretations.