Resident doctors in Abuja have begun a seven-day warning strike over poor welfare, unpaid salaries, and staff shortages.
The ARD-FCT warned it could escalate to indefinite action if demands are ignored.
The Association of Resident Doctors in the Federal Capital Territory (ARD-FCT) has commenced a seven-day warning strike to press for solutions to unresolved challenges in the health sector.
Speaking in Abuja, the ARD-FCT president, Dr. George Ebong, said the strike decision was taken during an emergency meeting held on Friday, September 5. He explained that despite repeated engagements, the FCT Administration has failed to address long-standing grievances.
Among the issues highlighted are inadequate staffing, delayed and incomplete salary payments, unexplained deductions, poor welfare, and the mental strain of excessive workloads. Ebong lamented that no new doctors have been recruited in the territory since 2011, forcing the available workforce to stretch across multiple departments. He pointed to the recent death of a young doctor in Port Harcourt, which he attributed to exhaustion, as well as the tragic death of a nurse from a snake bite at Abaji General Hospital, as examples of the risks health workers face.
Ebong said several appeals have been sent to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, but claimed the concerns have been ignored. He called for a health emergency to be declared across the 14 district and general hospitals in the territory.
He emphasized that the strike would continue without interruption. If the demands remain unmet after the warning strike, he warned that doctors would escalate to an indefinite industrial action.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Isaq Salako, expressed hope that discussions with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) could prevent a broader, nationwide strike. He explained that negotiations are ongoing over the payment of the residency training allowance, about 40 percent of which for 2025 remains outstanding.
