The Federal Government (FG) has offered assurances that concrete and sustained measures are underway to resolve the ongoing strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and restore full services across the nation’s public hospitals.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, announced that President Bola Tinubu has directed the ministry to take all legitimate steps to ensure the resident doctors immediately return to their duty posts.
Salako tendered an “unreserved apology” to all Nigerians whose access to medical services has been disrupted by the industrial action, which began days earlier.
“The President has expressly directed that we do everything possible and legitimate to ensure resident doctors are brought back to their duty posts as soon as possible,” the minister stated, underscoring the government’s commitment to prioritising citizens’ healthcare access.
The minister provided detailed updates on the government’s financial and manpower interventions.
He revealed that the government had released ₦21.3 billion to settle outstanding arrears and allowances, with about 60% of resident doctors already receiving payment alerts.
An additional ₦11.9 billion had also been processed and was expected to be paid within the week.
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He further noted that the government had earlier disbursed ₦10 billion exclusively for the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), which supports doctors in undertaking their professional examinations.
Addressing manpower shortages and workload challenges, Dr Salako disclosed that 14,444 health workers were recruited in 2024, while the employment of 23,059 additional personnel had been approved for 2025 across 78 federal tertiary health institutions.
The government affirmed that it has addressed “most of the 19 issues raised by the resident doctors” through the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) mechanism, which was inaugurated in August 2025.
Two core areas of disagreement—salary relativity and consultant cadre appointments—are currently being reviewed by an independent industrial relations expert, with an interim report already submitted.
Furthermore, a ministerial task force has been established to monitor hospital operations during the strike and ensure the continuity of essential services, with Consultants directed to maintain emergency and outpatient care.
Addressing a specific grievance, Abdu Enejo, Deputy Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), clarified that there has been no “downgrading” of membership certificates from the West African College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Instead, the MDCN is merely categorising qualifications in line with regulatory standards, assuring that any wrongly classified qualification can be resubmitted for correction.
Appealing directly to the striking doctors, Salako urged them to return to work, stating, “We must operate within the economic realities of the country,” while reaffirming that the ministry is committed to constructive engagement to reach a lasting and fair resolution.
In a show of continued effort, Yahaya Adamu, Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, assured the public that emergency and critical services remain operational across federal hospitals.
