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Tag: National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD)

  • BREAKING: NARD suspends nationwide strike

    BREAKING: NARD suspends nationwide strike

    …cites national interest, high-level presidency intervention, others 

    The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has suspended its planned nationwide strike following what it described as significant progress recorded on its demands through sustained engagements with the Federal Government and other key stakeholders.

    The decision was taken at a virtual Emergency National Executive Council (E-NEC) meeting held on January 11, 2026, where the association reviewed the status of its demands and assessed recent developments. 

    The association said the suspension followed direct presidential intervention led by Vice President Kashim Shettima on behalf of President Bola Tinubu.

    The suspension, the Secretary-General of NARD, Dr. Shuaibu Ibrahim, said is strategic and conditional, allowing the NEC to review tangible progress at its January meeting scheduled to commence on January 25, 2026

    A source familiar with the negotiations said significant progress has been made behind the scenes in the past week, altering the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors’ (NARD) stance.

    Read Also: Tinubu prioritises welfare, equipment of Armed Forces, says Defence Minister

    “In the last one week, there has been a lot of progress that has been made. Most of all of those progresses are at a very, very higher level, at the level of the presidency, as a matter of fact,” the source said.

    The source said tensions escalated over the handling of the issues by the Health Ministry leadership, particularly Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, prompting political intervention.

    “To emphasize the seriousness of the issue, I learnt that Minister Pate was called to order and also appealed to, trying to balance the things,” the source said.

    According to the source, several stakeholders were drawn into the talks, including hospital chief executives and top political actors.

    “Committee of CMDs, they met him a couple of times and he also had intervention from, I think, the top officials of APC. At a time, they started to fly the kite of political undertones and opposition involvement, so this led to APC leadership coming in to intervene and ascertain the facts,” the source said.

    The engagements, the source added, helped decision-makers better understand the doctors’ grievances.

    “So, they are trying to get information from those at the receiving end of the agitation, the resident doctors,” the source said.

    The insider said the interventions have translated into concrete actions, including directives on outstanding payments.

    Explaining why the union may hold back on the strike, the source said industrial action is only a means to an end.

    “Strike, in the real sense, is not for the purpose of just being down-tooling. It’s like a tool to get something,” the source said.

    Despite the progress, the NARD leadership is under pressure from members kept in the dark about the talks.

    “We are getting a lot of bashing from our members because there is so much information that we can still not reveal to them,” the source said.

    He expressed confidence the anger would subside once results become visible, saying, “By the time they start to see that the issues are being addressed, anomalies corrected and outstanding pays received, the members would appreciate the efforts”.

    However, according to the Secretary-General, Dr. Ibrahim, in a summary of the union’s Sunday NEC meeting, the lingering crisis at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, was resolved following the implementation of the report of an earlier committee set up by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

    In addition, a new reconciliation committee comprising Chief Medical Directors, the Ministry and NARD has been constituted to ensure all resident doctors remain at the hospital and to broker lasting peace between the Association of Resident Doctors and the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria at the facility.

    On the outstanding 25 and 35 percent Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) arrears, the association said verified lists had been forwarded to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, adding that the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment had written to the Ministry of Finance and Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to facilitate payment. Similar progress was reported on the accoutrement allowance.

    NARD also said lists of promotion and salary arrears had been transmitted by the Health Ministry to the Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office, noting that the Minister of State for Finance had acknowledged receipt and that engagements were ongoing to agree on a clear and expedited payment plan.

    On entry-level placement, the association said the Director of Hospital Services would communicate with hospital chief executives to reinforce a clarification from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation recognising CONMESS 3 as the entry level for doctors.

    It further disclosed that a multi-stakeholder committee comprising the Health Ministry, Chief Medical Directors, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and NARD had been set up on locum practice and work-hour regulation, with preliminary activities already underway. 

    Concrete steps were also said to have been taken toward full implementation of specialist allowances.

    Addressing house officers’ welfare, NARD said the Ministry of Labour had intervened, while the health ministry would formally engage the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) and IPPIS on salary delays and arrears.

    The NEC also noted progress on membership re-categorisation, professional allowance implementation, and efforts to ensure salary and allowance gains at the federal level are reflected in state and private health facilities.

    Based on what it described as firm commitments from critical stakeholders, including the Ministries of Health, Labour and Finance, the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, IPPIS, the Budget Office, the National Assembly, the Department of State Services and the Vice President, NARD said it unanimously resolved to suspend the resumption of its planned strike action, tagged TICS 2.0.

  • Senate endorse Health Sciences varsity, Otukpo

    Senate endorse Health Sciences varsity, Otukpo

    A bill which sought the establishment of the Federal University of Health Sciences Otukpo ( FUHSO ), Benue state, has received the endorsement of the Senate and stakeholders in the education and health sectors of the country.

    The Federal Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission ( NUC ), Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria ( MDCAN ), Nigeria Medical Association ( NMA ), National Association of Resident Doctors ( NARD ) and League of Idoma Professors ( LIP ) were unanimous in their submissions at the Senate Public hearing that the university is desirable.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki who described t the bill as timely noted that the establishment of the university would help mitigate the crisis in the health sector.

    Saraki stressed that the university would open the window for admission and training of medical  doctors, nurses , pharmacists and  medical  laboratory scientists in Nigeria adding “the university when established would address the issues  of medical tourism and its associated capital flights”.

    Saraki who was represented the Chief Whip, Senator Sola Adeyeye lamented that Nigeria loses humongous sum of money about N3billion annually on account of citizens seeking medical attentions abroad.

    Sponsor of the bill and former Senate President, Senator David Mark, listed the educational, economic and social importance of establishing the Health University to include medical education, access to health care facilities and employment opportunities.

    Senator Mark urged his colleagues to support and pass the bill for the benefit of humanity .

    Education Minister Mallam Adamu Adamu added that the establishment of the Health University would help address the imbalance in health education just as it will solve the medical needs of citizens.

    Speaking through the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. Sunday Echono, the minister assured that the  executive arm of government will do the needful as soon as the legislative processes are completed .

    The NUC executive Secretary  Professor Adamu Rasheed who spoke through Prof Ibrahim Yakassai said the university would be  an added value to the pursuit of medical Education in Nigeria .

    All the Speakers including Professor Innocent Ujah of Nigeria Institute for Medical Research ( NIMR ) , Professor Francis Uba of College of Medical Sciences, Professor Owoicho Akpa, of League of IDOMA Professors, former Interior minister Comrade  Abah Moro,  and Dr. Umar Adamu  of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA)  among others were of the consensus that the university be established forthwith to address medical challenges in Nigeria.

  • Doctors give 10-day strike notice to UCH management

    Doctors give 10-day strike notice to UCH management

    Barely one month after their nationwide strike, the resident doctors at the University College Hospital ( UCH ), Ibadan, on Friday, gave the hospital management  another 10-day strike notice to protest unpaid salaries.

    Dr Segun Olaopa, the President of the UCH branch of the National Association of Resident Doctors ( NARD ), disclosed this development at a news briefing.

    Olaopa said that the association’s dialogue with the hospital management on many occasions had yet to yield any positive result.

    “It has become imperative to draw the attention of the press to the brewing issues in UCH. These issues if not addressed, may impact negatively on the existing industrial harmony at the hospital.

    “These issues include: non-payment of our September salary, 28 per cent shortfall in August salary, 2016 shortfalls of 11 months till date and work overload due to management’s refusal to employ new residents.

    “Presently, the number of residents stands at 525; this has reduced to 454, as some of them have completed their residency. By this October, 40 among us will also finish the residency.

    “The implication of this is that the remaining few residents are given work overload and this should not be; management should employ more residents to make the workload easy and to achieve maximum productivity.

    “Resident doctors’ accommodations need to be rehabilitated. The conditions of those flats are nothing to write home about.

    “We implore management to do the needful in order to avert another strike,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the association  went on a 10-day national industrial strike, which was suspended on Sept. 14.

    Part of the outcome of the dialogue, which led to the suspension of the strike was  that  government would release money to pay the doctors’ backlog of salaries.

    NAN

  • Resident doctors resume work at UITH

    Resident doctors resume work at UITH

    The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) chapter, said on Saturday that it had resumed work.

    Dr Ige Alexander, the chapter chairman told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Ilorin that the resident doctors resumed work at UITH on Friday.

    NAN reports that the association went on a nationwide strike on Sept. 4.

    Alexander assured patients of the union’s preparedness to care for their health and wellbeing, as according to him, resident doctors do most of the work in the hospitals.

    “We constitute the largest workforce even though, we work under the consultants, such is the duty of the resident doctors and we are committed to it,” he said.

    He recalled that NARD had conciliatory meetings with the Federal Government during which they deliberated on the approaches to address the grievances of the association.

    “Basically, our agitation borders on the payment of salaries and if that is resolved, we don not have any reason to embark on strike,” he said.

    Ige said that the Federal Government promised the union that there would be no more shortfalls in their salaries commencing from September.

    He also said that the government had promised to resolve the issue of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), and that the payment of October salaries would be made through it.

  • NARD violates Trade Dispute Act – Ngige

    NARD violates Trade Dispute Act – Ngige

    The Federal Government said that the National Association of Resident Doctors ( NARD ) had violated section 18 of the Trade Dispute Act of the Federation of 2004 by embarking on strike.

    Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment said this at a conciliation meeting with the leadership of NARD on Wednesday in Abuja.

    “I do not want to be legalistic about it, because you have breached section 18 of the Trade Dispute Act, but all these are the sacrifices we have to make,” he said.

    It would be recalled that on Aug. 31, a Memorandum of Understanding was reached the minister and the Executives of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), NARD.

    Others are Ministry of Health, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Budget Office of the Federation and National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

    It would also be recalled that NARD had begun strike on Sept. 4, after reaching a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Ministry of Health on its six-point demand.

    “We all signed that agreement which was like a collective bargaining agreement. One of the clauses there was that NARD should revert back to their National Executive Committee (NEC).

    “They should present the agreement which was a CBA with a view to shelving the strike that they had proposed.

    “We then adjourned the meeting to Nov. 2 within which period we expected the implementation of the items on the agreement.

    “We were surprised that at the NEC meeting, the CBA that was entered into was repudiated and the Association embarked on strike.

    “So, by section 18 of the Trade Dispute Act of the Federation, T8, T9, 2004, conciliation starts by the Minister.

    “No party is allowed to stage a lock out either for employees or embark on strike against the employers.

    “In this ministry, we act as conciliators and in such situation. Even though I am a government minister I am a Chief Conciliator. If the government is wrong, I will tell them that they are wrong.

    “If the employee is wrong, I will say so and at the end of the day, we will find a way to conciliate and make for an equitable industrial relations”,he said.

    He said that as a chief conciliator, it was imperative to reconvene the meeting and look at the CBA, if there were issues that the association felt that their interest were not properly captured.

    He noted that NARD would have written to the ministry, adding that the alternative would not have been to embark on a proposed strike, adding “that is not industrial relations.

    “I want to commend the President of NMA for making out time to come and all areas of dispute would be resolved in this meeting so that the doctors can go back to their patients.

    “For me, any other strike can be handled in a way that you do not care about the little time you lose.

    “But in essential services, especially in medical service, we can’t replace lives that were lost.

    “That is why we had to reconvene this meeting few hours after you started your strike and we hope that this meeting will resolve the rough edges in the CBA if there are any.

    “I assure you even before we start this meeting that we have had a government side meeting and reviewed the agreement and I want to say that within 48 hours, everybody has started implementation of this CBA, ‘’he said.

    He said that the Accountant General’s office had done what they were supposed to have done and had remitted the money from the short fall to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

    Earlier, Mr Mike Ogirima, NMA President commended the minister for reconvening the meeting.

    “ We have listened to you and that is why we are here. We hope that the trust that was not there when MoU was signed would be restored at this meeting.

    “Because once that trust is restored and evidences of implementations of those six point demands are seen, I hope this will be the shortest strike by Resident Doctors.

    The News Agency report s that at the time of filing this report the minister and the stakeholders were still in a closed door meeting.

  • Doctors Strike: Mixed reactions in Asaba, Ilorin

    Doctors Strike: Mixed reactions in Asaba, Ilorin

    National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) chapter yesterday joined the indefinite strike over alleged cut in salaries.

    NARD  UITH President Ige Alexander, told reporter in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, that out of the 54 teaching hospitals in the federation, the UITH doctors received the least wages.

    Dr Alexander said: “The management of the UITH keeps on slashing our salaries since January 2014 and we are forced to contribute a fraction of the salary which management said is a palliative contribution.

    “We believe contributions should be willingly done and not mandatory. When we complain, we are met with threats.”

    He maintained that UITH resident doctors would use all necessary means to ensure justice.

    “Corruption is no more a big word in Nigeria, we appeal to the Senate to establish a committee to probe the teaching hospitals and see what is going on.

    “We are ready to press legal action and even petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and ICPC,” he said.

    He noted that some of the agitation by the national body of NARD include withdrawal of circular reversing skipping, enrollment of all doctors into IPPIS, payment of arrears of salary shortfall and prevention of further shortfall among others.

    But the action failed yesterday at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Asaba, Delta State where activities were in full swing despite the indefinite strike called by NARD.

    There was initial apprehension among patients when NARD announced an indefinite strike as the health facility had lately been plagued by strike.

    However, the institution’s branch of NARD complied with the stay at home directive of the union’s national body.

    Chairman of NARD at Asaba FMC, Dr. Nosa Uwugiaren, who spoke on phone said his members fully complied with order to embark on industrial action.

    Uwugiaren said resident doctors at the institution would not resume work until there is a contrary order from the national executive.

    However, the presence of other care givers including consultants, nurses and student doctors ensured the impact of the strike was not felt.

    Normal activities were ongoing including patients being taken on admission.

    A nurse who spoke under anonymous condition said the strike by a section of health workers could not paralyse activities at the hospital.

    She said: “Patients are being attended to, those to be admitted are taken on admission. The consultants who are actually the owners of the patients are not on strike. Other health workers are also not on strike, so we will do our best to fill the vacuum created by the absence of resident doctors.”

  • NARD urges Kwara to raise awareness on CSM

    A medical practitioner, Dr Ige Kolawole, has urged the Kwara Government to raise awareness on the causes, symptoms and prevention of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM).

    Kolawole, who is the President of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), University of Ilorin Chapter, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Monday.

    According to him, there is low awareness about the disease in the state; as such the government needs to step up its awareness campaign on the disease.

    “The sensitisation programme has not been adequate, so there is need for more awareness so that people will be aware of everything about the disease.

    “The media is there, it is just that the government needs to use it so that the information will go round the state,” he emphasised.

    Kolawole assured that members of the association were ready to take on any emergency in the event of any outbreak of CSM in the state.

    He added that the association has distributed series of handbills to its members and would embark on a sensitisation walk during the week.

    Also, Dr Kunle Olawepo, the Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), advised the people to go to the hospital if they experience severe headache, fever, neck stiffness, nausea and vomiting.

    “Surveillance needs to be improved and people must as well ensure they see a doctor when they notice health problems,” he stressed.

     

  • Kogi resident doctors join national protest

    Kogi resident doctors join national protest

    The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, has joined the strike by National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to register their displeasure with the management of Nigeria’s health system.

    The ARD President in Lokoja, Dr Kennedy Obohwemu, said on Friday that his members were part and parcel of NARD and were duty bound to comply with the directive.

    “NARD directed its members to carry out peaceful protests by wearing black ward coats and conducting rallies at the expiration of the initial ultimatum given to the Federal Government on Jan. 2.

    NARD, on Dec. 19, gave the Federal Government up to Jan. 2 to implement the National Health Act, 2014, while asking it to address the lingering issues beleaguering the health sector, especially as it affects resident doctors.

    “With due respect to constituted authority in the Federal Ministry of Health, our actions today have become necessary considering the protracted saga and unfathomable quagmire resident doctors across the country find themselves in.

    “Apart from the fact that we are following instructions from our national body, we believe it is time to take the bull by the horn and address these persistent problems once and for all.

    “Let the whole world know what resident doctors are going through. Our patients deserve the best of healthcare delivery.

    “We cannot do that when we, the healthcare providers, are not in the right frame of mind.

    “The medical profession is going through the toughest of times in recent years. Our black jackets and black bands symbolize the death of our healthcare delivery system.

    “We ask for a resurrection, a revamping of the system, such that the average Nigerian can confidently access quality healthcare at affordable rates.”

    Obohwemu lamented the pitiable state of Nigeria’s health system, citing the need for Federal Government to urgently intervene and prevent massive exodus of doctors to the outside world for greener pastures.

    “The same hospital one fails to equip today may be the closest hospital that could save one’s life tomorrow.

    “NARD demands are not outrageous, but these issues have been neglected for far too long, thus placing the future of the medical profession in jeopardy.

    “We need a uniform template for the residency training programme; structural framework must be clearly spelt out in a consistent unbiased manner and applied universally.

    “Since enactment in 2014, the National Health Act is yet to be implemented. We want the implementation of July 14th 2016 agreement with government as soon as possible; that is our agitation.

    “This legal document provides a framework for the regulation, development and management of a health system and sets standards for rendering health services in Nigeria.

    “The Act ensures that patients are given the best of healthcare delivery with availability of health infrastructure, while ensuring that the rights of health care personnel are protected,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the resident doctors carried placards with various inscriptions such as: “We condemn selective implementation of no work, no pay”.

    Other inscriptions read: “Equity, fairness and justice”, “Migrate all doctors to IPPIS platforms”,“Residents are pensionable, Pay outstanding arrears”.

    “ Skipping is sacrosanct, we stand with NARD”, “Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Government should implement 2014 National Health Act’’, among others.

  • Lagos Psychiatric hospital doctors protest,wear black bands, coats

    Lagos Psychiatric hospital doctors protest,wear black bands, coats

    The Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba in Lagos, on Tuesday complied with the directive of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) by wearing black bands and coats to register their grievances.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this was in line with the NARD directive to its members.

    The national body of the association had directed its members to wear black ward coats and conduct rallies at the expiration of initial ultimatum given to the Federal Government on Jan. 2.

    NAN reports that NARD had on Dec. 19 given the Federal Government up to Jan. 2 to implement the National Health Act 2014 and address other demands of the association.

    The |National President of NARD, Dr Kenneth Uwajeh, told NAN in Lagos that doctors at the hospital complied with the directive of the national body.

    Uwajeh said, “We have black bands on our arms, some of us are wearing black jackets.

    “We want the masses to be aware of the plights of the patients, doctors and the society as regard the medical profession.

    “If they are not catered for, the health is not catered for; many people cannot afford healthcare because they have no insurance or access to facilities.

    The doctor said that the demands of the association had been abandoned for long; this had jeopardised the future of medicine in the country.

    According to him, the government should do the needful in order to move the medical profession forward.

    “We are asking for a white paper on the residency training programme; basically, it is part of the legal framework.

    “We need that because the residency training programme is being conducted in a haphazard fashion.

    “We want a document so that residency programme can be consistent across the country; we need a clear-cut document that is consistent, objective and void of bias.

    “The National Health Act 2014 has not been implemented.

    “This basically will cater for the needs of the patients largely and improve the nation’s health indices and practice of the profession, “ Uwajeh said.

  • Nurses call on doctors to shelve planned strike

    Nurses under the aegis of University Graduates of Nursing Science Association (UGONSA) on Monday appealed to the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to shelve its planned nationwide strike.

    The association, in a statement, said the oath of allegiance “to God and humanity by health workers was sacrosanct and that no reason was good enough for anyone to breach it in the name of strike’’.

    In a statement issued in Abakaliki by UGONSA’s National Secretary, Mr Goodluck Nshi, the association decried incessant strikes in the health sector.

    It pointed out that innocent Nigerians were unnecessarily being punished each time care delivery was disrupted by industrial action.

    ”It is, to say the least, inhumanity, for anybody to contemplate visiting more hardship on innocent Nigerians that have been significantly crouched by the economic downturn in the country, by grounding healthcare services.

    ”When the elite have headache, they travel outside the country to get treatment.

    “It is the ordinary Nigerians, who do not have the wherewithal to go abroad for treatment that are unnecessarily punished each time the health sector is grounded by strike.

    ”We appeal passionately to NARD to have a rethink of its position.

    “Strike breaches our oath of allegiance and should in no way be an option at all in the health system that is very critical to the lives and general well-being of the populace.

    “As we cannot re-create or recover any life lost to strike, we should instead, be all preoccupied with how to help lift the country out of its present economic predicament.

    “At a trying period like this, patriotic compatriots think of what they can do to help the country and not how to worsen an already bad situation.

    “Embarking on strike would only add to the woes of ordinary Nigerians,” the nurses said.

    They commended the “Change Begins with Me” drive of President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that the campaign was apt, timely and most needed in the health sector.

    ”Ethical values have unfortunately been eroded among our healthcare providers such that at the sound of a “strike gong” they throw away their very essence of living, that is, the patient.

    “They trample upon all ethical values and bastardize the oath of allegiance. Such anomalous behaviour is unacceptable and must be stopped.

    ”The change must begin with our abiding by our sacred oath of allegiance to God and humanity. We must develop alternative ways of handling industrial disputes other than embarking on strikes,” the statement said.

    The association, however, urged the government to always be proactive, equitable and prompt in attending to genuine requests or agitation of groups in the health sector to forestall avoidable scenarios.

    ”Government at different levels should not wait until health workers embark on strike before addressing their issues.

    “They should also lead the “change begins with me” campaign in the health sector, by placing premium on infrastructure upgrade and on the welfare of care providers by handling their genuine demands,’ it said.