THE Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Friday, September 12, began a five-day nationwide warning strike after the Federal Government allegedly failed to meet its demands for unpaid allowances, salary arrears and other outstanding welfare issues.
The association announced the industrial action in a statement titled “Declaration of Strike Action” signed by its Secretary-General, Oluwasola Odunbaku, saying the strike commenced at 8:00 a.m.
It directed all centre leaders to guide their members to down tools accordingly.
“Good morning, NEC Members, thank you all for your continued cooperation and understanding. As clearly stated in our earlier communique, the strike is scheduled to commence at 8:00 am today (Friday).
“All Centre leadership is expected to guide their members accordingly. Further updates will be communicated to NEC members in due course,” Punch reported the directive to have read.
The ICIR reports that the strike is the culmination of months of warnings and missed deadlines.
The association first issued a 21-day ultimatum in July 2025 over unpaid entitlements, including the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), five months of salary arrears from the revised Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), outstanding specialist and hazard allowances, and the 2024 Accoutrement Allowance.
The doctors also raised concerns over delays in issuing postgraduate certificates, the downgrading of qualifications from the West African Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, and unresolved welfare disputes in Kaduna and Oyo states.
After the initial deadline expired, the doctors extended it by 10 days to enable the Federal Government to meet their demands or face a nationwide strike.
That ultimatum elapsed on September 10, prompting a last 24-hour grace period on Thursday, September 11, that ended without any concrete government response.
The association said it was disappointed that despite these repeated extensions and engagements, the government had not addressed critical issues in the demands.
The latest industrial action, declared by the resident doctors also came amid the ongoing warning strike by the Association of Resident Doctors, FCT chapter (ARD-FCT)
The development, was announced on Monday, September 8, in a communiqué signed by ARD-FCT President, George Ebong, and other executives, warned that continued neglect of the sector could trigger a complete breakdown of healthcare delivery in the nation’s capital.
They are demanding urgent recruitment of health workers, provision of functional equipment, regular payment of salaries and allowances, among others.
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