The Lagos State Government on Tuesday condemned the indefinite strike embarked by medical doctors in its employment, saying that the action was aimed at discrediting the government.

Speaking with newsmen on the strike, Mr Aderemi Ibirogba, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, described the doctors' action as "malicious and smacked of insensitivity."

Ibirogbasaid that the latest action was selfish and uncalled for, especially when the State Government had repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to the welfare of its doctors.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the doctors, under the umbrella of the Medical Guild, on Tuesday embarked on indefinite strike, demanding improved working condition.

The latest action followed a three-day warning strike from April 11 - 13, during which the doctors demanded the implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS).

"The demands of the doctors are ridiculous: For instance the demand for teaching allowance for house officers, who on moral ground are assumed to still be undergoing training, is fraudulent.

"They are even demanding the same allowance for this category of people; what should we call that? Teaching allowance or learning allowance? That is fraudulent."

Ibirogba alsoaccused the doctors of concocting the strike to weaken public confidence in government-owned health institutions, adding that the goal was to attract patients to their own private hospitals.

He noted that no state had addressed the issue of doctors' welfare the way Lagos had done, saying the real issues raised in CONMESS had been implemented.

The commissioner assured Lagos residents that government would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that they have access to qualitative healthcare at all times.

Also speaking on the development, Dr Jide Idris, the Commissioner for Health, said that he was shocked by the doctors' action, saying it was embarked upon to blackmail the government.