The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has vowed to continue its nationwide strike despite the Federal Government’s recent disbursement of ₦41 billion to health workers, insisting that the payment addresses only one of 19 outstanding issues with the government.
Speaking on ARISE News on Sunday, the President of NARD, Dr. Mohammad Suleiman, said the payment, which government claimed was a demonstration of commitment to improving healthcare, covers only a fraction of the doctors’ demands and does not address core grievances around welfare, work conditions, and professional recognition.
“Government released ₦41 billion for 25–35% arrears that have lasted for two years across the entire health sector,” Suleiman said. “Out of this, only about ₦10–₦11 billion goes to doctors, and resident doctors make up 60% of that. So we’re talking about ₦5–₦7 billion. That’s one out of 19 issues we have with the Federal Government.”
He added that while the government had begun addressing accoutrement and non-clinical duty allowances—amounting to about ₦6 billion combined—several unresolved matters, including the reinstatement of five unlawfully terminated doctors, remain outstanding.
“We have five colleagues who were unjustly terminated—union leaders with families and roots in their communities. Government says it will redeploy three of them to other hospitals, not their original stations. That’s unacceptable,” he said.
Suleiman also expressed concern that the Federal Government had stripped resident doctors of their specialist status, a move he described as “career-crippling and unjust.”
“That certificate gives us specialist-in-training status across West Africa. Ghana and Sierra Leone recognise it, but Nigeria has chosen to strip it away. We are talking about career progression here. A frustrated doctor is a very dangerous doctor,” he warned.
The NARD president listed other unresolved issues, including unpaid promotion arrears dating back to 2021, the need to release the professional allowance table from 2019, and the illegal casualisation of doctors on short-term locum contracts.
“Casualisation is illegal in Nigeria, yet chief executives are issuing slave-like contracts renewed every two or three months,” he lamented. “We’re not asking for much—just for work to work for the worker.”
Calling on President Bola Tinubu to personally intervene, Suleiman commended the Ministers of Finance, Wale Edun and Doris Anite, for their efforts but urged similar commitment from the Ministry of Health.
“I’m asking the President, as the father of the nation, to speak to our leaders in the Health Ministry to do the same,” he said. “Clear these issues, reinstate those five doctors, release the professional allowance table, stop casualisation, and pay house officers on time. These are straightforward administrative things that cost no kobo.”
He emphasised that the ongoing strike was not merely about salaries but about fairness, respect, and functionality within the healthcare system.
“It now looks like doctors are doing this so money is given to them to come back to work, but this is beyond remuneration. If work doesn’t work for the worker but only for government, is it really worth doing?”
Dr. Suleiman concluded firmly that the strike would continue until all 19 demands were addressed.
“The strike continues until our 19-point demands are sorted,” he declared.
Boluwatife Enome
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