The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced plans to resume its previously suspended total, indefinite and comprehensive strike with effect from Jan. 12.
This follows the Federal Government’s failure to fully implement agreed resolutions.
The decision was taken at an emergency virtual meeting of the association’s National Executive Council (E-NEC) held on Friday and conveyed in a statement issued by NARD and obtained from its official X handle “@nard_nigeria”.
The National Officers’ Committee (NOC) said the resumption, tagged “TICS 2.0: No Implementation, No Going Back”, would commence at 12:00 a.m. on Jan. 12.
According to the statement, the NEC directs all centre presidents across the association’s 91 accredited centres to convene congress meetings and thereafter address the media, with the aim of saturating public spaces with information on the planned industrial action within the next seven days.
The association said it would resume the strike alongside a series of coordinated protests, beginning with centre-based demonstrations scheduled to hold from Jan. 12 to Jan. 16.
It added that this would be followed by regional protests to be led by caucus leaders, while a nationwide protest would subsequently be organised by the NARD NOC.
NARD stated that the suspension of the renewed strike would only be considered after the full implementation of what it described as its minimum demands.
These include the re-instatement of the five resident doctors disengaged from the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja; payment of outstanding promotion and salary arrears.
It added the full implementation of the professional allowance table with arrears captured in the 2026 budget as conditions to be met.
Other demands listed by the association include official clarification on skipping and entry-level placement issues by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to chief executives of health institutions.
The re-introduction and implementation of the specialist allowance; and the resolution of house officers’ salary delays and arrears, alongside the issuance of a pay advisory.
The association also demanded the re-categorisation of membership certificates and issuance of certificates after Part I examinations by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.
It demanded the commencement of the locum and work-hours regulation committees, as well as the resumption and timely conclusion of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) process.
The NOC explained that the one-week window before the resumption of the strike was deliberately provided to allow centres to conduct congress meetings.
It will also enable them engage the media and carry out statutory notifications of the planned protests to security agencies and hospital managements.
The committee expressed appreciation to members for their patience, resilience and continued support, assuring that engagements with relevant stakeholders would be intensified in the coming days.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NARD had on Nov. 29, 2025 suspended a 29-day nationwide strike that began on Nov. 1, following an extraordinary NEC meeting and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Government.
The association had granted a four-week window for the implementation of its demands, warning that failure to do so would result in the resumption of the strike.
The earlier strike disrupted services in federal and state tertiary health institutions nationwide and was called over unpaid arrears, allowances, stalled promotions, workload concerns and other welfare-related issues affecting resident doctors. (NAN)