Resident doctors give FG two weeks to meet demands or face a strike

Nigeria’s resident doctors have put the Federal Government on notice. At the close of its 46th Annual General Meeting in Calabar, Cross River State, on Sunday, 27 September, the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) gave the government two weeks to act on a list of long-standing demands or face industrial action.

Resident doctors are qualified doctors training as specialists, largely in teaching and federal hospitals, so any strike by them is felt quickly by patients.

What the doctors want

• Full implementation of earlier agreements signed with the government
• A review of remuneration and professional salary structures, which they say no longer match economic realities
• Prompt payment of salaries and entitlements owed to house officers
• A standard template to pay doctors who carry extra workload because of staff shortages
• Full enforcement of measures against assaults on health workers
• Better hospital infrastructure and equipment, and a bigger health budget

The association’s president, Dr Emmanuel Ogar, said delays in implementing agreements had become unacceptable. The doctors also tied their demands to the steady departure of colleagues abroad, arguing that pay and working conditions are driving the exodus.

NARD warned that inaction would lead to a breakdown of industrial harmony and “disrupt healthcare delivery nationwide”.

Familiar ground

This is not the first stand-off. According to Nairametrics, the association suspended a 29-day strike in November 2025 after signing a memorandum of understanding with the government, and called off a planned indefinite strike in April 2026 after fresh commitments. The doctors say key parts of those deals remain unfulfilled.

For patients, nothing changes yet: hospitals are operating as normal while the ultimatum runs. But anyone with planned treatment, clinic appointments or surgery at a federal or teaching hospital in the coming weeks would be wise to keep an eye on developments.

What next: The two-week window ends around 11 October. If the government does not act, NARD says it could begin industrial action. GistMatrix will update this story when the Federal Government responds.