President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is currently in France on a vacation visit while Nigeria’s healthcare system faces fresh disruption, as resident doctors launched a five-day warning strike on Friday.
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which makes up the majority of the medical workforce in teaching and specialist hospitals, announced the industrial action after the Federal Government failed to address long-standing grievances.
The strike follows the expiration of a 24-hour ultimatum earlier in the week, which itself came after a 10-day deadline that lapsed on 10 September without resolution.
In a message titled “Declaration of Strike Action”, NARD Secretary-General, Dr. Oluwasola Odunbaku, confirmed the commencement of the strike, instructing leadership across all medical centers to ensure compliance.
Resident doctors are demanding the immediate payment of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund, settlement of five months’ arrears arising from the 25–35 percent Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) review, and other backlogs of unpaid salaries.
Their demands also include:
- Payment of the 2024 accoutrement allowance arrears.
- Prompt disbursement of specialist allowances.
- Restoration of recognition of the West African postgraduate membership certificates.
- Implementation of the 2024 CONMESS review.
- Urgent resolution of welfare issues affecting doctors in Kaduna State.
- Intervention in the plight of doctors at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso.
Meanwhile, President Tinubu who has faced growing criticism over frequent foreign trips since assuming office remains in Paris, where the presidency says his on vacation.” This has sparked debate over his absence at a time when the nation’s healthcare sector is in crisis.
Analysts argue that the timing of the president’s trip could further strain his relationship with organized labor and healthcare professionals, especially as Nigerians continue to grapple with economic hardship, inflation, and a weakened naira under his administration.
The doctors have warned that if the government fails to act within the warning strike window, a full-scale indefinite strike could follow, potentially crippling tertiary healthcare services across the country.
