Resident Doctors Embarks On Nationwide Strike

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has begun an indefinite nationwide strike after the 24-hour ultimatum they issued to the federal government expired without resolution.

Resident doctors are medical graduates undergoing specialist training, and they form the backbone of emergency wards in Nigerian hospitals. Their absence is expected to put a serious strain on healthcare delivery across the country.

The doctors had earlier given government agencies a 10-day ultimatum on September 1 to address their demands. That deadline was later stretched by an additional 24 hours on September 11.

Speaking with TheCable on Thursday, NARD president Tope Osundara confirmed that the strike would begin on Friday if the government failed to engage the association meaningfully.

He stressed that the core issues revolve around doctors’ welfare and inadequate staffing in hospitals nationwide.

“It’s majorly about welfare. We also have issues of shortage of manpower in almost all healthcare centres and facilities across the nation,” Osundara explained.

NARD now said that the strike has commenced nationwide following a directive from its national executive council (NEC).

Among their demands are the release of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), payment of outstanding 2024 accoutrement allowance arrears, and settlement of five months’ unpaid salaries arising from the 25 percent/35 percent consolidated medical salary structure review.

The association is also pushing for the federal government to reverse the decision of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), which downgraded membership certificates issued by the West African Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons.

KanyiDaily recalls that resident doctors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) previously began a seven-day warning strike to press home their demands for urgent reforms in the health sector.