The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has issued a fresh nationwide strike notice, warning that its members will embark on an indefinite industrial action from 8:00 a.m. on August 10 if the Federal Government fails to address longstanding demands relating to unpaid arrears, welfare and poor working conditions.
The decision was reached at the end of the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Gombe from July 26 to 31, where delegates reviewed the implementation of previous agreements with the Federal Government and assessed challenges confronting the country’s health sector.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, NARD President, Dr. Mohammad Usman Suleiman, said the council was dissatisfied with what it described as the slow implementation of agreements reached with the government despite repeated engagements over the past several months.
He said the association had extended its strike ultimatum four times in the hope that the outstanding issues would be resolved, but regretted that many of the commitments remained unfulfilled.
Among its key demands, NARD called for the immediate payment of outstanding 25–35 per cent CONMESS salary review arrears, the 19-month professional allowance arrears, promotion arrears and salary arrears owed to doctors in several federal health institutions.
The affected institutions, according to the association, include the University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Okuki; Federal Medical Centre, Owo; Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife; University of Uyo Teaching Hospital; Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri; Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki; Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi; and other federal hospitals.
The association also condemned the growing cases of assault, harassment, intimidation and attacks on doctors and other healthcare workers while on duty, describing the trend as a serious threat to Nigeria’s already overstretched health system.
It urged the Federal Government to establish a National Healthcare Workers Assault Prevention and Response Protocol and called on the National Assembly to enact legislation criminalising attacks on healthcare personnel.
While commending the Federal Government for releasing the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund, NARD demanded the immediate payment of eligible resident doctors who were omitted from the initial disbursement.
The council also expressed concern over the worsening welfare of house officers, citing prolonged salary delays, unpaid arrears and persistent bottlenecks in internship placement and onboarding, which it said force many newly employed doctors to work for weeks or months before receiving their first salaries.
NARD further demanded the speedy conclusion and implementation of the Medical and Health Workers Collective Bargaining Agreement, the implementation of recommendations aimed at addressing excessive workload and manpower shortages, and urgent intervention by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in the industrial dispute at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
The association also urged the Federal Government and state governments to increase investment in healthcare through improved funding, rehabilitation of health facilities, provision of modern medical equipment, uninterrupted electricity supply, recruitment and retention of healthcare workers, and accelerated implementation of universal health coverage.
It also appealed to the Federal Capital Territory Administration, the Kaduna State Government and the management of affected federal tertiary hospitals to resolve outstanding salary, welfare and training issues involving resident doctors.
NARD warned that unless its demands are substantially addressed before August 10, resident doctors across the country would commence a total and indefinite strike.
The association linked many of the unresolved welfare issues to the growing exodus of Nigerian doctors, noting that more than 16,000 medical doctors have left the country in the last three to four years in search of better remuneration and working conditions abroad.
It warned that the number of doctors leaving the country now far exceeds the number graduating annually from medical schools, a trend it said poses a grave threat to healthcare delivery if urgent steps are not taken to reverse it.
