The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has declared an indefinite nationwide strike effective Friday, November 1, 2025, citing the Federal Government’s failure to meet its demands despite the expiration of a 30-day ultimatum.
President of the association, Dr. Mohammad Suleiman, announced the decision in a statement on Sunday following an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) held on Saturday.
According to Suleiman, the association’s leadership had exhausted all avenues of dialogue before resolving to embark on a total shutdown of medical services across the country.
“After a five-hour extraordinary NEC meeting, members unanimously agreed to commence a total, comprehensive, and indefinite strike action at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, October 31.
“The NEC has outlined minimum demands, strike monitoring directives, and enforcement measures required to ensure the success of this industrial action, ” he said.
The doctors’ decision comes after repeated warnings to the Federal Government to address issues bordering on welfare, unpaid allowances, and unfavourable working conditions.
The association had on September 26 issued a one-month ultimatum, which expired last week without any concrete response from relevant authorities.
Dr. Suleiman accused certain government officials and private actors of what he described as “exploitative and oppressive tendencies” toward resident doctors, stressing that the association would resist all attempts to undermine its members’ welfare.
He said the National Officers Committee (NOC) had been mandated to ensure full compliance with the strike order across all teaching and specialist hospitals in the country.
“Centre presidents and general secretaries have been directed to convene emergency congress meetings to brief members on the resolutions and prepare for full-scale industrial action,” he added.
NARD listed a series of grievances that it said had been ignored by the government.
Among them are nonpayment of arrears arising from the 25 per cent and 35 per cent upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), the dismissal of five resident doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, nonpayment of promotion arrears and the 2024 accoutrement allowance.
The association also expressed frustration over what it termed “unregulated and excessive work hours” without adequate compensation, as well as the exclusion of medical and dental house officers from the federal civil service scheme, a policy NARD described as discriminatory.
The planned strike is expected to cripple activities in federal and state-owned teaching hospitals, where resident doctors constitute the majority of the clinical workforce.
Medical consultations, surgeries, and emergency services are likely to be severely affected, worsening the already fragile healthcare situation across the country.
NARD advised its members to use the days preceding the strike to hand over patients, sensitise the public, and engage community and religious leaders on the reasons for their action.
“We urge members to prepare responsibly, hand over patients appropriately, and use this period to create public awareness on why this strike has become inevitable,” Suleiman said.
This is not the first time the resident doctors have embarked on industrial action over similar issues.
In recent years, the association has repeatedly clashed with the government over delayed salaries, poor working conditions, and inadequate funding for the healthcare sector.
As of press time, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Employment had not issued an official statement in response to NARD’s strike notice.
