Resident Doctors Announce Return to Indefinite Strike from January 12

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has declared that it will resume its previously suspended total, indefinite and comprehensive strike from January 12, citing the Federal Government’s failure to fully implement agreed resolutions.

The decision was reached during an emergency virtual meeting of the association’s National Executive Council (E-NEC) held on Friday and was communicated in a statement issued by NARD via its official X handle, @nard_nigeria.

According to the statement, the National Officers’ Committee (NOC) said the renewed action, tagged “TICS 2.0: No Implementation, No Going Back,” will begin at exactly 12:00 a.m. on January 12.

The NEC directed centre presidents across NARD’s 91 accredited centres to convene congress meetings and engage the media, with the aim of widely publicising the planned industrial action within the next seven days.

NARD said the strike would be accompanied by coordinated protests, starting with centre-based demonstrations scheduled to run from January 12 to January 16. This will be followed by regional protests led by caucus leaders, while a nationwide protest will later be organised by the NARD NOC.

The association stated that consideration for suspending the strike would only arise after the full implementation of its minimum demands. These include the reinstatement of five resident doctors disengaged from the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, and the payment of outstanding promotion and salary arrears.

Other demands listed include the full implementation of the professional allowance table, with arrears captured in the 2026 budget, and official clarification by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on skipping and entry-level placement issues.

NARD also called for the reintroduction and implementation of the specialist allowance, resolution of house officers’ salary delays and arrears with the issuance of a pay advisory, and the re-categorisation and issuance of membership certificates after Part I examinations by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.

Additional demands include the commencement of locum and work-hours regulation committees, as well as the resumption and timely conclusion of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) process.

Explaining the one-week notice before the strike resumes, the NOC said the period was intentionally provided to allow centres to hold congress meetings, engage the media, and complete statutory notifications to security agencies and hospital managements.

The committee thanked members for their patience, resilience and continued support, assuring them that engagements with relevant stakeholders would be intensified in the coming days.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that NARD suspended a 29-day nationwide strike on November 29, 2025, which began on November 1, after an extraordinary NEC meeting and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Government.

At the time, the association granted a four-week window for the implementation of its demands, warning that failure to comply would lead to a resumption of the strike.

The earlier action had disrupted services in federal and state tertiary health institutions nationwide and was driven by unpaid arrears, allowances, stalled promotions, workload concerns and other welfare-related issues affecting resident doctors.

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