By Peter Omopo
The President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Mohammad Suleiman, has outlined seven critical conditions that must be met before the association will suspend its ongoing nationwide strike.
In an interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, Suleiman revealed that although the government had held three conciliation meetings with striking doctors—where 19 demands were agreed upon with clear timelines—virtually none of the resolutions had been implemented.
The only exception, he said, was the partial payment of the 25–35 per cent allowance, which remains incomplete, with about 40 per cent of members yet to receive the payment.
Health Services Crippled Nationwide
The indefinite strike, which began on November 1, has left public hospitals across the country overwhelmed. More than 11,000 resident doctors in 91 teaching hospitals walked off the job over unresolved welfare concerns, worsening service disruptions.
Tensions intensified further on November 15, when the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) commenced its own indefinite strike, heightening fears over patient safety and the stability of health services nationwide.
Seven Key Conditions for Suspension
Suleiman confirmed that the NARD National Executive Council (NEC) has now streamlined its demands to seven immediate conditions, stating:
“NEC said when the government sorts these out, we will come back again and suspend this strike. That is where we are now.”
The conditions include:
- Reinstatement of the Lokoja doctors dismissed earlier in the year.
- Release of the Professional Allowance Table for proper implementation.
- Payment of promotion arrears owed to resident doctors.
- Payment of salary arrears in affected federal and state hospitals.
- Implementation of upgrades for doctors who passed Part I exams and fulfil entry-level requirements.
- Full implementation of specialist allowance for eligible members.
- Resolution of issues surrounding the Membership Certificate.
Government Missed Agreed Timelines — NARD
The NARD president expressed frustration that the government had failed to meet the timelines agreed upon in the most recent negotiation session.
Specific deadlines missed include:
- Compilation of promotion arrears
- Compilation of salary arrears across affected centres
- Issuance of a letter to the Accountant-General on upgrading qualified doctors
- Response from the Head of Service regarding the reversal of entry-level placement (from CONMESS 3 to CONMESS 2)
- Release of the Professional Allowance Table
- Submission of the Lokoja report, which expired on Thursday
- IPPIS remittance payment report, expected last week but not produced
Suleiman lamented that even the two-week extension granted on several items had expired “without any progress.”
“Today is Friday, one full week after the deadline,” he said. “Those compilations have not even been forwarded to the Minister of Finance or the Budget Office. The Head of Service has not clarified. We still don’t have an update on the Professional Allowance Table.”
He added that attempts to process the accoutrement allowance for doctors on the GIFMIS platform had been “very problematic,” with reported cases of double payments.
As negotiations stall, Nigerians continue to feel the impact of the strike, with emergency units overstretched and routine services suspended across many public hospitals.
