NARD Declares Indefinite Nationwide Strike from 1st of November, Says FG Owes ₦38bn Health Workers
Resident doctors in Nigeria will begin an indefinite nationwide strike on November 1 over unpaid allowances and poor working conditions.
The union says government has failed to address their demands.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced that its members will begin an indefinite nationwide strike on Saturday, November 1, 2025. The association said it was left with no choice after the federal government failed to meet the demands that had been on the table for months.
NARD President, Dr. Muhammad Suleiman, made this known on Monday during a press briefing in Abuja while presenting the decisions of the association’s Extraordinary National Executive Council (E-NEC) meeting. He said the association had earlier suspended a warning strike in September after government officials promised to act, but nothing changed.
“This grace period has since elapsed, yet the federal government has failed to demonstrate the political will necessary to address the legitimate concerns of Nigerian resident doctors,” he said.
Why doctors are going on strike
Dr. Suleiman said the federal government owes doctors and other health workers across the country between ₦35bn and ₦38bn in accumulated allowances. He explained that the unpaid money affects health workers in every category.
“There are allowances of over two years, there’s 18 months, there’s seven months, there’s four months, there’s eight months,” he said.
He also pointed out that “There’s an allowance error that is over 10 years old. There’s a failure to review even the basic salary of doctors in this country for 16 years.”
He added that the money owed to just resident doctors is about ₦400 million, while the amount owed to all doctors in Nigeria could be between ₦600 million and ₦800 million.
In his words: “For all health care workers, I think the outstanding owed is about ₦35 to ₦38 billion… If it’s just resident doctors, we’re talking about maybe ₦400 million… for all doctors in Nigeria, it could be ₦600 to ₦800 million.”
Apart from the debt issue, NARD said the workload doctors face is now unsafe. The association stated that doctors are continuously working long hours without rest due to the shortage of staff.
“The current unsustainable practice of spanning duties across several days poses serious risks to physicians’ well-being and patient safety,” the association said. It added that “Doctors continue to work excessive hours far beyond international standards without adequate rest.”
The association also complained that promotion arrears have not been paid since 2021, house officers are still excluded from the civil service scheme that gives pensions and welfare packages, and the review of the CONMESS salary structure has been abandoned for more than 16 years. It described these conditions as “exploitative, inhumane, and dangerous to public health.”
The association said all resident doctors working in federal and state hospitals must stop work “completely and indefinitely” until the government starts showing “genuine commitment” to meeting their demands.
Hospitals still owing many months of salaries
In its report, NARD listed several health institutions where doctors have not been paid for months. At Benue State University Teaching Hospital, doctors are owed 18 months’ salaries.
At the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Owo, workers are owed between four and eight months of salaries and allowances. At Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex in Ile-Ife, the association said 83 doctors employed under the 2022 waiver have not been paid for seven to 14 months, and another set of 40 doctors have not received their salary for March 2024.
The association stressed that the situation is not different at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, and the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, where some newly employed doctors have not been placed on the payroll at all. It further expressed worry over the slow response to resolving outstanding issues such as the non-payment of specialist allowances and the downgrading of entry-level placement for new resident doctors.
Appeal to the president
Dr. Suleiman called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene personally and bring an end to what he called a long-standing crisis hurting the health sector.
“Mr President, they have been paying themselves their salaries and allowances. It is we who are in the field working that they are not paying,” he said. He continued, “I hope you will listen to this passionate appeal and use your goodwill. You are the father of the nation. Come into this matter, weigh in on it, and solve it for us.”
He urged the president to make sure that the many issues affecting the welfare and safety of doctors are handled once and for all, so that Nigerians can receive proper medical care without disruption.
