The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has resolved to embark on a total and comprehensive industrial strike commencing at 8 a.m. on Monday, 10 August 2026, should the federal government fail to satisfactorily address its outstanding demands before the expiration of the stipulated timeline. The declaration sets a firm deadline for the authorities to act if a nationwide walkout by resident doctors is to be averted.
The resolution was contained in a communique issued at the end of the association's week-long national executive council meeting, held in Osun State. During the meeting, delegates expressed deep concern over what they described as the worsening state of Nigeria's healthcare system, warning that the deterioration was placing growing pressure on both doctors and the patients who depend on public health institutions across the country.
Among the issues raised by the delegates were the alleged intimidation and poor treatment of resident doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, outstanding salary arrears and deteriorating working conditions. The association framed these grievances as long-running problems that have gone unresolved despite repeated engagements, contributing to frustration among its members and to the decision to set a strike date.
The national executive council strongly condemned the persistent assault, harassment, intimidation and violent attacks against doctors, and demanded immediate and concrete measures to curb what it described as a menace facing the profession. It stressed that the safety of healthcare workers had become a pressing concern that could no longer be treated as a secondary issue within the wider dispute with the government.
To address the problem, the council called for the development and implementation of a national healthcare workers' assault prevention and response protocol. It further urged the initiation of the necessary legislative processes to criminalize and effectively address assaults on healthcare workers nationwide, seeking legal protection for personnel who face violence in the course of their duties.
On remuneration, the council demanded the immediate payment of all outstanding arrears arising from the 25 to 35 percent upward review owed to medical doctors, without further delay. It also demanded the immediate payment of the outstanding 19-month professional allowance arrears to all affected medical doctors, describing the unpaid entitlements as a central grievance behind the planned industrial action.
In addition, the national executive council demanded the immediate payment of all outstanding salary and promotion arrears owed to doctors across federal health institutions. The council resolved that, in the absence of a satisfactory response to the issues contained in its communique before the 10 August deadline, its members would proceed with the total and comprehensive industrial strike as declared.