Updated: Resident doctors suspend strike after 29 days

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has suspended its indefinite strike commenced 29 days ago.

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The decision was reached at an ‘extraordinary’ National Executive Council meeting held on Saturday.
Confirming the development in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, NARD President Muhammad Suleiman said the strike has been suspended for four weeks.

“The strike has now been suspended for four weeks, we will share more details later,” Mr Suleiman said.

The resident doctors have been on an indefinite strike since 1 November, grounding services across federal hospitals.

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NARD declared the indefinite strike after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on 25 October.

The association accused the federal government of failing to address long-standing issues, including unpaid salary arrears, poor working conditions, delayed promotions, and the non-implementation of the one-for-one replacement policy to curb manpower shortages.

The association also decried prolonged duty hours and excessive workloads due to the migration of health workers abroad.

“The current unsustainable practice of spanning duties across several days poses serious risks to physicians’ well-being and patient safety,” NARD said in its communique.

The doctors’ demands include payment of all outstanding arrears and allowances, immediate replacement of existing doctors, improvement of hospital infrastructure, and inclusion of house officers in the civil service scheme.

Strike suspended

In a statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle Saturday night, Mr Suleiman explained that the suspension followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the federal government outlining the status of NARD’s 19-point demands.

He said key outstanding issues such as payment of promotion and salary arrears, implementation of specialist allowance, and the reinstatement of the ‘Lokoja five’, are expected to be completed within two to four weeks.

“The outstanding issues at the stage of implementation are as follows: Promotion Arrears: Compilation hasn’t been completed by CMDs/MDs, and as such, the deadline for payment is in four weeks,” he wrote.

“Salary Arrears: Deadline for payment has been agreed at four weeks; Specialist Allowance: Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) has issued a clear direction on this and NSIWC to take appropriate action with a view to implementation.

“On Lokoja five: The committee report recommended reabsorption back into Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja, to be fully implemented within two weeks.”

Mr Suleiman said the NEC in its wisdom reviewed the issues and decided to suspend the strike for four weeks as a gesture of goodwill, allowing time to monitor the implementation of their demands.

“Progress has been made, significantly. This is simply because of the efforts and convictions of NARDites across the country,” he wrote.

“Mistakes have also been made, kindly rest those mistakes solely on my shoulders as President.”

Mr Suleiman added that the association will use the four-week window to intensify engagement with Nigerians and the government, stressing that “It is not over until it is over.”

Concerns, efforts

The association earlier said that the just suspended industrial action goes beyond financial issues, describing it as a fight for dignity, safety, and the survival of Nigeria’s healthcare system.

“Our struggle transcends money. It is about dignity, safety, and survival,” it said. “Nigerian doctors work in hazardous environments, often collapsing from exhaustion without compensation or recognition.”

At the onset of the strike, the federal government announced that N11.9 billion would be released for the payment of outstanding arrears, including accoutrement allowance, as part of efforts to restore industrial harmony.

It noted that N10 billion had earlier been paid in August 2025 as part of the seven months’ arrears for the 25 to 35 per cent upward review of the Consolidated Medical and Health Salary Structures (CONMESS and CONHESS).

Another N21.3 billion has also been transferred to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) account for disbursement.

“In addition, the sum of N11.995 billion is being processed for release within 72 hours to pay other arrears, including accoutrement allowance,” the statement said at the time.

“All these payments are being enjoyed by members of NARD in accordance with the salary structure in the health sector.”