The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced plans to commence an indefinite nationwide strike starting November 1, 2025.
NARD President, Mohammad Suleiman, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, explaining that the decision followed the expiration of a 30-day ultimatum earlier given to the Federal Government over unresolved demands.
According to the statement, the directive came after a five-hour meeting of the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) held on Saturday.
“The NEC has marshalled out minimum demands, strike monitoring directives, and ‘no work, no pay/no pay, no work’ resolutions needed for a successful execution of this action,” the statement read in part.
Suleiman said the NEC unanimously directed members to declare a total, comprehensive, and indefinite strike beginning on Friday, October 31, 2025, at 11:59 pm.
He added that the National Officers Committee (NOC) had been mandated to ensure full compliance with the directive and to implement strike monitoring and enforcement measures across all centres.
“NEC has also decided that centre presidents and general secretaries shall go back and call emergency congress meetings to brief members on the details therein,” Suleiman stated.
The NARD President accused some government and non-government actors of “evil and exploitative plans” against resident doctors, vowing that the union would collectively resist such moves.
He also urged members to use the next few days to hand over patients, engage community and religious leaders, and sensitise the public ahead of the strike.
The industrial action is expected to disrupt medical services nationwide, as resident doctors constitute the backbone of clinical care in the country’s healthcare system.
On September 26, NARD had issued a one-month ultimatum to the Federal Government to address issues affecting the welfare and training of resident doctors and medical officers across the country.
The association’s grievances include excessive and unregulated work hours, non-payment of outstanding arrears from the 25 and 35 percent upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and the unjust dismissal of five resident doctors from the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja.
NARD also decried the non-payment of promotion arrears to medical officers in various federal tertiary hospitals, the failure to pay the 2024 accoutrement allowance, and bureaucratic delays in upgrading resident doctors’ ranks after completing postgraduate medical examinations, which have led to unpaid arrears.
The association further condemned their exclusion from the specialist allowance despite their crucial role in providing specialist-level care. It also criticised the exclusion of medical and dental house officers from the civil service scheme, which it said denies them rightful salaries and career progression.
Additionally, NARD faulted the downgrading of newly employed resident doctors from CONMESS three Step three to CONMESS two Step two, resulting in reduced earnings and unpaid salary arrears in several federal hospitals.