The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has said it will go on a nationwide strike starting September 10 if the Federal Government does not meet its demands.
NARD’s President, Dr. Tope Osundara, revealed this in an interview with a reporter.
He said the association met with the government on Monday, but the meeting did not lead to any progress.
Earlier this week, NARD gave the government a 10-day deadline to meet its demands or face a strike.
The doctors criticized the government for not keeping its promises. They said many resident doctors have not been paid their 2025 training fund, and the government still owes them five months’ salary from a recent pay raise, as well as other unpaid allowances from 2024.
About three weeks ago, the government set up a committee to negotiate with health workers, following complaints from NARD, the Nigerian Medical Association, and other health unions.
The talks are meant to address issues like pay, working conditions, training opportunities, and the general welfare of health workers.
The committee was created after both NARD and the Nigerian Medical Association warned of a possible strike, and nurses had recently paused their own strike.
Dr. Osundara said that despite setting up the committee, the government has still not responded seriously to their demands.
He said, “The 10-day deadline is still running, and we haven’t seen any real effort from the government. Doctors are frustrated. If nothing changes, the health system could break down. We’ve tried to reason with them, but we can’t promise things will stay calm after the deadline.”
He explained that if doctors can’t register for their exams due to lack of funding, they will lose a year in their training. This also means the government will need to pay for the same training again next year, making it a bigger loss for everyone.
He added that the government still owes doctors money. Out of seven months’ unpaid salary, only two months were partly paid, and even that was not the correct amount.
Dr. Osundara said over 2,000 doctors have not yet received their Medical Residency Training Fund, and the deadline to register is Friday, September 5.
He said many doctors from hospitals across the country, like in Calabar, Port-Harcourt, Uyo, and Maiduguri, have not received the money, and they are very upset.
Meanwhile, doctors at Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, have been on strike since July 29.
Also, resident doctors in Kaduna State started an indefinite strike on September 1 to push for their demands.
