Posted on: Sat 03-01-2026

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has announced that it will resume a total and indefinite nationwide strike beginning 12 January 2026 The decision follows what the association described as the Federal Governments failure to implement previously agreed welfare and policy commitments

The announcement was made after an Extraordinary National Executive Council meeting held on 2 January According to the associations president Dr Mohammed Suleiman the industrial action tagged TICS 20 will begin at 1200 am on the stated date and will only be suspended when all minimum demands are fully implemented

The association has directed all centre presidents across its 91 centres to hold congress meetings and brief the media within seven days The goal is to ensure widespread awareness ahead of the strike with 91 press conferences expected nationwide

In addition to the strike the association has scheduled a series of protests Centrebased protests will hold from 12 to 16 January followed by regional protests and a national protest organised by the National Officers Committee

The association listed several unresolved issues including

Reinstatement of the FTH Lokoja FivePayment of promotion and salary arrears
Full implementation of the professional allowance table with arrears captured in the 2026 budget
Reintroduction and implementation of the specialist allowance
Clarification on entry level and skipping issues by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
Resolution of house officers salary delays and arrears with issuance of a pay advisory
Recategorisation of membership certificates and issuance of certificates after Part I examinations by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria
Commencement of locum and workhours regulation committees
Resumption and timely conclusion of the collective bargaining agreement process

Dr Suleiman explained that the oneweek window before the strike is intended to allow proper congress meetings media engagement and statutory notifications to security agencies and hospital management

This development follows a warning issued on 28 December in which the association cautioned that Nigeria was heading toward another nationwide shutdown of medical services due to the governments failure to honour a Memorandum of Understanding The association had previously suspended a 29day strike on 29 November 2025 after the government committed to implementing its demands within four weeks a deadline the association says passed without visible progress

As of the time of reporting the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had not issued an official response

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