Doctors, FG enter into truce to suspend planned strike
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, says it would suspend its planned nationwide strike action over alleged Non- payment of their entitlements.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, says it would suspend its planned nationwide strike action over alleged Non- payment of their entitlements.
National President of NARD, Dr Muhammad Sulaiman, spoke in an interview with reporters shortly after their meeting, with the Federal Government officials at State House, Abuja, on Tuesday.
Suleiman, said their problems had been addressed, stressing that they secured firm commitments on nearly every outstanding issue.
NARD officials met for about three hours with President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the Presidential Villa, ahead of the strike action at the instance of Gbajabiamila.
Those in attendance included the Ministers of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, the coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, the Finance and Coordinating minister of economy; Taiwo Oyedele the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation; the Accountant-General of the Federation; as well as the officials in charge of cash management and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPS.
Sulaiman said, “Today, I can tell you, our matters are solved.
This is not the first time the Chief of Staff has intervened in matters relating to resident doctors in this country.
“About six or seven years ago, when he became Speaker, it was the first opportunity he had to intervene, and he has always intervened and whenever he came into our issues, our matters were solved.
“Timelines have been agreed upon by various agencies of government on salary and promotion areas.
Those in attendance included the Ministers of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, the coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, the Finance and Coordinating minister of economy; Taiwo Oyedele the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation; the Accountant-General of the Federation; as well as the officials in charge of cash management and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPS.
Sulaiman said, “Today, I can tell you, our matters are solved.
This is not the first time the Chief of Staff has intervened in matters relating to resident doctors in this country.
“About six or seven years ago, when he became Speaker, it was the first opportunity he had to intervene, and he has always intervened and whenever he came into our issues, our matters were solved.
“Timelines have been agreed upon by various agencies of government on salary and promotion areas.
"We are talking about the meal issue at LUTH, we are talking about a week for implementation.
"We have agreed on a figure. We have agreed on numbers...
“We also talked about House Officers, so that they don’t have to wait a whole month before they get the previous month’s salaries.
“In fact, he has given a standing order that before the 10th of every month, salaries of house officers must be paid.”
“In fact, he has given a standing order that before the 10th of every month, salaries of house officers must be paid.”
House officers are junior doctors in their mandatory one-year internship, but Suleiman said a standing directive had now been issued on their salaries,
explaining that his association and the Federal Government agreed to specific timelines for resolving outstanding salary, promotion and allowance disputes that had pushed the association to the brink of industrial action.
explaining that his association and the Federal Government agreed to specific timelines for resolving outstanding salary, promotion and allowance disputes that had pushed the association to the brink of industrial action.
Also commenting on the Collective Bargaining Agreement between NARD and the federal government, Suleiman further said the Presidency had directly charged the Ministries of Labour and Employment and Health to accelerate its completion, so that whatever terms are agreed can be captured in next year’s budget cycle for implementation.
“The conversations have been very, very robust,” he said, noting that NARD had also raised the escalating pattern of violence against health workers, citing 31 doctors and more than 20 other health workers assaulted in the past 10 months alone.
“The conversations have been very, very robust,” he said, noting that NARD had also raised the escalating pattern of violence against health workers, citing 31 doctors and more than 20 other health workers assaulted in the past 10 months alone.
“Today we have agreed. The Ministry of Health is going to release directives to their hospitals to beef up security and create safe spaces.
“The Ministry of Health is going to engage the public in public education for health workers not to be assaulted,” he added.
“The Ministry of Health is going to engage the public in public education for health workers not to be assaulted,” he added.
On the long-running dispute over unpaid hazard and specialist allowance arrears, Suleiman explained that the roots of the dispute started about seven years, when the government began paying resident doctors only 40 per cent of their accrued allowances rather than the full entitlement.
He, however, stressed that the Tinubu administration corrected the shortfall in February 2026 but, in implementing the correction, did not cover the full seven-year backlog, with a 19- month gap dating back to July 2024. still outstanding.
On the planned nation- wide strike action, he said: “I can’t stand here and tell you I have called off a strike. What I’ll do, I have the utmost confidence that what he (Gbajabiamila) has done today has moved the needle to a very large extent; to have solved our matters, and we’ll wait for more.
He, however, stressed that the Tinubu administration corrected the shortfall in February 2026 but, in implementing the correction, did not cover the full seven-year backlog, with a 19- month gap dating back to July 2024. still outstanding.
On the planned nation- wide strike action, he said: “I can’t stand here and tell you I have called off a strike. What I’ll do, I have the utmost confidence that what he (Gbajabiamila) has done today has moved the needle to a very large extent; to have solved our matters, and we’ll wait for more.
“I have National Executive Council members. I will have a conversation. I have to report all of this back. We sit down. We take a decision.
“The point is, the person that called us for this conversation has never failed resident doctors. That is what I am emphasising.“
He, however, said he would need to report back to NARD’s National Executive Council before any final decision could be communicated.
NARD had recently threatened to embark on a nationwide indefinite strike from August 10 if the Federal Government failed to address outstanding salary arrears, welfare concerns and other longstanding issues affecting its members.
“The point is, the person that called us for this conversation has never failed resident doctors. That is what I am emphasising.“
He, however, said he would need to report back to NARD’s National Executive Council before any final decision could be communicated.
NARD had recently threatened to embark on a nationwide indefinite strike from August 10 if the Federal Government failed to address outstanding salary arrears, welfare concerns and other longstanding issues affecting its members.
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