Resident Doctors Call Off Strike, Warn Of New Action If Demands Not Met By April 21

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has called off its nationwide strike.

NARD President, Mohammad Usman Suleiman, told TheCable on Tuesday that following a meeting of the association’s national executive council, doctors are expected to return to work from 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

Suleiman said the federal government has assured the association that it will reverse its decision to stop implementing the revised professional allowance table (PAT) starting in April 2026.

He added that NARD has set a deadline of April 21 for the government to fully meet their demands.

NARD president warned that if this is not done, another strike would be unavoidable.

The strike had been declared in protest against the federal government’s plan to halt the revised PAT, which was agreed upon after a long strike in 2025.

The revised table was designed to increase pay for resident doctors, including call duty and shift allowances, rural posting incentives, and payments for non-clinical duties.

Although the revised PAT was supposed to take effect in January 2026, and later February, NARD says the government now intends to stop its implementation in April.

The association described this as a breach of trust and previous agreements, demanding that the decision be reversed and all owed payments settled immediately.

NARD also called for the prompt payment of promotion and salary arrears for certain centres and for the completion of the 2026 medical residency training fund payments.

KanyiDaily recalls that NARD had previously given the Federal Government a four-week deadline to fully implement pending agreements on salaries, allowances, and welfare.