Resident doctors at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Yaba, Lagos, have announced a one-week warning strike starting Monday, July 7, 2025. They are protesting the non-payment of salaries for new doctors and say the hospital’s management is making things worse.
The strike was made official in a statement signed by the President of the hospital’s Resident Doctors Association, Dr. Babarinsa Oluvatoba, and the General Secretary, Dr. Disu Kazeem.
The doctors said they are very frustrated because the newly hired doctors, who have been working for five to six months, have not been paid at all.
According to the doctors’ association, the hospital has ignored repeated requests and meetings to fix the issue, leaving many doctors broke and emotionally stressed.
They explained that they had given the hospital a 10-day deadline in June to solve the problem, but nothing was done. Now, the salary payment window for June has closed, and the affected doctors still haven’t been paid.
“The doctors noted with sadness that June ended and the new doctors still didn’t get paid, even after working for five months,” the notice said. “It’s unacceptable that they’re now working into their sixth month without salaries.”
The doctors blamed the hospital’s management for being careless and said this problem seems to only happen at their hospital. Other federal hospitals are not facing the same issue.
They warned that the situation is discouraging young doctors and could harm the quality of care provided at the hospital.
The doctors said working conditions are very tough, and they’ve kept doing their jobs despite not being paid for months and dealing with the stress it brings.
The association also said the hospital’s lack of action is creating anger among the staff and damaging the peaceful work environment needed to deliver good services.
They said the strike is meant to send a clear message to hospital leaders and government authorities.
However, the doctors warned that if salaries are still unpaid by the end of July, they will start a full strike that could shut down the hospital’s services.
They stressed that they care about patients, but said it is impossible to keep working under such harsh conditions.
“Doctors are working in very hard conditions without pay. If this continues, we can’t promise peace at the hospital,” the statement said.
