THE Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has issued a final 10-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, threatening to embark on a nationwide strike if its long-standing demands remain unmet.
In a communiqué signed by the NARD President, Tope Osundara, General Secretary, Oluwasola Odunbaku, and Publicity Secretary Omoha Amobi, on Monday, September 1, the union expressed frustration over the government’s failure to meet its demands.
The threat followed an Extraordinary National Executive Council (E-NEC) meeting held virtually by NARD on Sunday, August 31.
The NARD noted that it had earlier given a three-week ultimatum in July, “which was extended in the interest of industrial harmony.”
However, the association said that despite repeated engagements, there had been no meaningful progress on critical issues affecting its members.
It cited the non-payment of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) to a large number of doctors and the failure to pay outstanding salary arrears arising from the revised 25 per cent and 35 percent Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).
The doctors also criticised the continued withholding of the 2024 Accoutrement Allowance and raised concerns over what they described as the unjust downgrading of membership certificates issued by the West African Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
They demanded immediate payment of the 2025 MRTF to all eligible residents, settlement of the five months’ salary arrears under the revised CONMESS, and full implementation of the 2024 CONMESS.
They also called for the prompt payment of the 2024 Accoutrement Allowance and specialist allowances to all eligible doctors, as well as the restoration of recognition for West African postgraduate qualifications and the release of pending certificates by the NPMCN.
The NARD warned that if these demands were not met by Wednesday, September 10, 2025, the association would have no choice but to commence a nationwide strike.
NARD had, on June 1, called on the Federal Government to immediately settle specialist allowances and outstanding salary arrears owed to its members.
Speaking during a press conference in Uyo, the NARD president decried the continued exclusion of resident doctors from the payment of specialist allowances, despite their active roles in delivering critical care across various health institutions.
A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting outlined the frustrations of the association, including the “persistent casualisation and poor remuneration of resident doctors by chief executives of tertiary hospitals.”
The NARD also condemned the non-payment of arrears arising from the upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).
Meanwhile, The ICIR reports that the ultimatum also came days after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) led nationwide protests across campuses over similar issues of unpaid salaries, breach of agreements, and systemic neglect.
The coordinated ASUU demonstrations, which took place in at least 12 universities on August 27, raised concerns over the fragile state of industrial peace in the education sector and highlighted broader discontent with government handling of public institutions.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M