Resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have resumed duties following the suspension of a nationwide strike that lasted one month.
The doctors had been on strike since Nov. 1, in line with the directive of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which accused the Federal Government of failing to address its long-standing demands.
NARD’s demands included a 200 per cent increase in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), full implementation of new allowances proposed since July 2022, immediate recruitment of clinical staff and the removal of bureaucratic delays hindering the replacement of exiting doctors.
President of the UCH chapter of NARD, Dr. Gboyega Ajibola, said the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) met on Nov. 29 to review the situation, after which the strike was suspended.
He stated that the government had met most of the association’s immediate and short-term demands.
According to him, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the government, outlining each demand and the modalities for implementation.
“Based on the satisfactory terms of the MoU, the NARD NEC decided to suspend the industrial action and give the government four weeks to demonstrate progress as outlined in the agreement,” Ajibola said.
He added that, following the suspension, all NARD chapters were directed to hold a congress on Dec. 1 to brief members on the new development and instruct them to resume duties.
“In compliance with this directive, a congress was held at 8 a.m. today (Monday), during which members were updated and directed to return to work,” he said.
Ajibola confirmed that all resident doctors at UCH had resumed duty on Monday.
