President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed urgent action to end the nationwide doctors’ strike and restore normal hospital operations.
Health Minister Iziaq Salako assured Nigerians that talks are ongoing to resolve all disputes swiftly.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to take swift steps to end the ongoing strike by resident doctors and ensure that healthcare services across the country are restored without delay.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Salako, made this known in Abuja while speaking to journalists on Monday. He said the President’s directive followed growing public anxiety over the disruption of hospital services nationwide.
Dr Salako apologized to Nigerians for the inconvenience caused by the strike and assured that the government was making every effort to resolve the crisis and bring doctors back to work.
“Mr President has expressly directed that we must ensure resident doctors resume work without delay,” the minister stated.
He explained that talks between the government and leaders of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) had been ongoing to address 19 pending issues raised by the union. The disagreement, according to him, stemmed from a circular earlier issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, which reportedly caused friction among health professionals.
The circular was later withdrawn to allow for the drafting of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that would involve the Nigerian Medical Association, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, and the Joint Health Sector Unions.
Dr Salako revealed that the committee working on the new agreement held 12 meetings before negotiations were suspended due to disputes over salary structures and the appointment of non-doctor health workers as consultants. To ease tensions, he said the ministry brought in a professor of industrial relations to mediate, and an interim report had already been submitted to the government.
The minister also noted that the current administration recruited more than 14,000 health workers in 2024 and plans to hire an additional 23,000 across 78 federal health institutions before the end of the year.
In addition, President Tinubu approved an upward review of the retirement age for clinical staff to 65 years and released N21.3 billion to clear outstanding arrears, out of which 60 percent has already been paid.
Dr Salako appealed to the striking doctors and other unions to work with the government in restoring harmony within the health system, stressing that “the health sector operates as a team, and no cadre can function effectively in isolation.”
