The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is set to commence a five-day nationwide warning strike to press for the fulfillment of outstanding salary and welfare demands.
The industrial action, beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, September 12, 2025, will continue until Tuesday, September 16, 2025, NARD confirmed in a statement on Thursday.
The planned strike follows deliberations during NARD's online National Executive Council (E-NEC) meeting, which convened on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, and extended into the early hours of Thursday.
Agbor Affiong, General Secretary of NARD's Federal Capital Territory chapter, said the NEC members "unanimously resolved to embark on a five-day warning strike" and directed all centres to inform their hospital managements accordingly.
The strike coincides with ongoing industrial action by resident doctors in Abuja and Oyo State, and comes after NARD issued a 10-day ultimatum to relevant government agencies over unmet demands.
NARD President, Osundara Zenith, had previously indicated that members planned to shut down public hospitals due to poor working conditions, power shortages, downgrading of certificates, and inadequate remuneration.
Resident doctors, who make up a significant proportion of the workforce in teaching and specialist hospitals, are seeking immediate payment of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund, arrears from the 25-35 percent Consolidated Medical Salary Structure review, and other long-standing salary backlogs. Other demands include payment of 2024 accoutrement allowance arrears, prompt disbursement of specialist allowances, restoration of recognition for West African postgraduate membership certificates, and issuance of membership certificates by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria to qualified candidates. The doctors are also seeking resolution of welfare concerns in Kaduna State and support for resident doctors at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso.
The strike, if embarked on, will impact services across operating rooms, emergency departments, intensive care units, wards, specialized clinics, diagnostic imaging, and laboratories in district hospitals and primary healthcare centres nationwide.
Medical practitioners have warned that the country's healthcare system faces worsening conditions due to brain drain, obsolete equipment, and poor welfare.