The Federal Government(FG) and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have reached an agreement in principle on the key issues behind the union’s planned nationwide strike, but resident doctors say the industrial action has not yet been suspended pending a final decision by the association’s National Executive Council (NEC).
The development followed a high-level meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, as the government raced to prevent another disruption in public healthcare.
Speaking after the meeting, NARD President, Dr Mohammed Suleiman, said the discussions had produced concrete commitments from the government, with timelines agreed for implementing outstanding demands.
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According to him, the meeting moved beyond fresh promises to specific implementation targets, particularly on salary-related matters, promotions, and welfare issues affecting resident doctors and house officers.
He said timelines of about one week had been fixed for resolving salary and promotion concerns, including issues relating to the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital.
Suleiman also said an agreement had been reached on the payment structure for house officers, and that steps had been taken to prevent delays in salary payments.
He explained that the Chief of Staff directed that house officers should receive their salaries before the 10th day of every month, a move expected to address one of the recurring complaints within the public health system.
Despite the progress, the NARD president maintained that he could not unilaterally suspend the planned strike.
He said the association’s leadership would first brief members of its National Executive Council (NEC) before taking a final position on whether to proceed with or shelve the industrial action.
Suleiman said, “I can’t stand here and tell you I have called off a strike.”
He added that the commitments made by the government had substantially addressed the issues that led to the dispute.
He, however, noted that the association would monitor implementation before reaching its next decision.
The meeting brought together the Minister of Labour, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, and representatives of relevant government agencies and medical bodies, reflective of the level of concern over the looming strike.
Resident doctors had earlier fixed August 10 as the deadline in their ultimatum to the Federal Government over unresolved welfare and remuneration issues. The planned action raised fears of another round of disruptions across government-owned hospitals, where resident doctors provide a large share of emergency and specialist services.
Industrial disputes between resident doctors and the Federal Government have become a recurring feature of Nigeria’s health sector over the past decade, with disagreements often centring on unpaid salaries, allowances, promotions, training, working conditions, and the implementation of previous agreements.
Unlike several previous negotiations that ended with broad assurances, Tuesday’s meeting produced specific timelines for implementation, according to the doctors’ leadership. Whether that will be enough to avert the planned strike now depends on the decision of the association’s National Executive Council (NEC), which is expected to review the outcome of the talks before announcing its next step.
For patients and public hospitals already grappling with manpower shortages, the coming days are likely to determine whether this intervention marks a genuine breakthrough or simply postpones another industrial dispute.
