Resident Doctors Schedule Strike Like an Appointment — January 12, 12:00 a.m. Sharp

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced plans to resume a total and indefinite nationwide strike from January 12, 2026, following what it described as the Federal Government’s failure to honour previously agreed welfare commitments. The decision marks a renewed escalation in the long-running dispute between resident doctors and the government over working conditions and remuneration.

The resolution was reached at an Extraordinary National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the association held on January 2, 2026. The outcome of the meeting was disclosed in a statement signed by the NARD President, Dr Mohammed Suleiman, who said the industrial action had become inevitable after repeated assurances by the government yielded no concrete results.

According to the statement, the strike has been tagged TICS 2.0 and carries the theme “No Implementation, No Going Back.” It is scheduled to commence precisely at 12:00 a.m. on January 12, signalling a complete withdrawal of services by resident doctors across federal and state-owned health institutions until all outstanding demands are fully addressed.

Nationwide Mobilisation and Protest Actions Announced

Dr Suleiman stated that the strike would remain in force indefinitely and would only be suspended after the full implementation of all agreements reached with the Federal Government. He emphasised that partial compliance or renewed promises without action would no longer be acceptable to the association.
As part of preparations for the industrial action, Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has directed all 91 centre presidents nationwide to convene congress meetings within seven days. These meetings are expected to brief members and engage the media in order to clearly communicate the association’s grievances and mobilise public support ahead of the strike.

In addition to the withdrawal of services, the association announced a structured protest schedule to accompany the strike. This includes centre-based protests from January 12 to 16, followed by coordinated regional demonstrations. A national protest is also planned and will be organised by the National Officers Committee to further draw attention to the unresolved issues affecting resident doctors.

Unresolved Welfare Issues at the Heart of the Dispute

NARD outlined a broad range of unresolved welfare demands that prompted the renewed strike action. These include the reinstatement of the “FTH Lokoja five,” payment of outstanding promotion and salary arrears, and the full implementation of the professional allowance table, with accumulated arrears captured in the 2026 budget.

Other demands listed by the association are the reintroduction of the specialist allowance, clarification of entry-level placement and skipping concerns, resolution of persistent house officers’ salary delays, and the recategorisation of membership certificates.

NARD also called for stricter regulation of work hours and the immediate resumption of the collective bargaining agreement process.
The association recalled that it suspended a 29-day nationwide strike on November 29, 2025, after the Federal Government pledged to implement the agreed demands within four weeks.

Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, however, said the deadline elapsed without tangible progress. As of press time, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had yet to issue an official response to the latest strike announcement.