Frontline medical residents in Nigeria launched a five-day warning strike on Friday, demanding unpaid allowances, salary arrears and better welfare. The strike, ordered by the National Association of Resident Doctors, is a response to what the doctors call government inaction on long-standing financial and professional concerns.
NARD Secretary-General Dr. Oluwasola Odunbaku confirmed that work stopped at 8 a. m. across federal and state hospitals. The association insists the government must immediately pay the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund, settle five months of arrears under the revised Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, and disburse unpaid specialist, hazard and accoutrement allowances. Doctors also want recognition of membership certificates from the West African Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons reinstated, after a downgrade by the medical regulatory body.
Services collapsed in major cities including Lagos and Ibadan. At Lagos University Teaching Hospital, University College Hospital Ibadan, National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, and other centres, the strike left patients stranded in outpatient clinics, accident and emergency units and wards. Resident doctors in Kaduna and at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso are among those already in or joining the action, frustrated by repeated government pledges without tangible follow-through.
Doctors say they have issued multiple ultimatums. An earlier deadline expired on 10 September, followed by a 24-hour grace period which lapsed on 11 September, after which the strike was declared. Meetings with federal authorities, including health agencies, have yielded no substantial agreement.
Long-standing concerns extend beyond pay. The striking doctors complain about shortages of manpower, the psychological stress of heavy workloads, and delays in professional certification. They warn that repeated strikes, and lack of welfare support, are driving medical practitioners to seek opportunities abroad, deepening the country’s healthcare staffing crisis.
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