Resident Doctors Sets For Nationwide Indefinite Strike From Oct. 31
By - Iyanuoluwa Olaoluwa
Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has placed
its members on red alert for an indefinite strike nationwide to compel the
Federal Government to meet their outstanding demands.
According to it, the industrial action is scheduled to
commence as from midnight of October 31, this year, following the federal
government’s failure to meet a 30-day ultimatum.
NARD President, Dr. Mohamed Suleiman, who announced the
association's decision at the end of an extraordinary National Executive
Council (NEC) meeting, said the union had directed its National Officers
Committee to start mobilizing members nationwide ahead of the strike.
Suleiman explained that the resident doctors and medical
officers across the country have been enduring excessive and unregulated work
hours, for several consecutive days, and this could endanger both their health
and the safety of the patient.
The NARD President added that the strike is as a result of
the Federal government failure to pay the outstanding 25 per cent and 35 per
cent upward review arrears of CONMESS, which should have been settled by the
end of August 2025.
According to him, the layoff of five of their resident
doctors from the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, was displeasing as this
action came amidst the widespread burnout and the ongoing migration of medical
professionals abroad.
He, however, advised doctors to use the days before the
strike to hand over patients properly and continue public engagement.
