Tension In Health Sector: Resident Doctors Begin 5-Day Warning Strike Over Unmet Demands

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced a five-day nationwide warning strike to push the Federal Government into addressing its long-standing demands.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Agbor Affiong, General Secretary of the FCT Administration’s Association of Resident Doctors, confirmed that the decision followed a marathon virtual National Executive Council (NEC) meeting that stretched into the early hours of the day.

According to the resolution, the strike will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, September 12, 2025, and last until Tuesday, September 16, 2025.

“All centres are hereby directed to formally notify their hospital managements and continue to press home our collective demands,” the communiqué read.

Affiong explained that NEC members unanimously agreed to the action after several unresolved issues affecting doctors’ welfare remained unattended.

The planned strike, which will heavily disrupt operations in teaching and specialist hospitals across the country, comes at a time when Nigeria’s health sector is already grappling with limited manpower and inadequate funding.

Resident doctors—who constitute the majority of the medical workforce in federal institutions—have repeatedly resorted to industrial action in recent years over unpaid allowances, welfare concerns, and salary arrears.

With this latest declaration, patients may face widespread disruptions in critical healthcare services unless urgent steps are taken to avert the crisis.