The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced that it will resume a total and indefinite nationwide strike from January 12, 2026, following what it described as the Federal Government’s failure to implement agreed welfare demands. The decision was taken on Friday after an Extraordinary National Executive Council meeting held on January 2, and was disclosed in a statement shared on X by the association’s president, Dr Mohammed Suleiman.According to the statement, the industrial action, tagged TICS 2.0, will commence at exactly 12:00 a.m. on January 12 and will only be suspended after the full implementation of the association’s demands.
Suleiman said the NEC had directed all centre presidents across NARD’s 91 centres nationwide to convene congress meetings and brief the media within the next seven days. He explained that each centre would hold a press conference to ensure widespread public awareness of the action. The association also announced that the strike would be accompanied by a series of protests. Centre-based demonstrations are scheduled to run from January 12 to 16, 2026, to be followed by regional protests and, subsequently, a national protest organised by the National Officers Committee.
NARD said the strike would only be called off after key demands are fully met. These include the reinstatement of the “FTH Lokoja five,” payment of promotion and salary arrears, full implementation of the professional allowance table with arrears reflected in the 2026 budget, and the reintroduction and implementation of the specialist allowance.Other demands listed are official clarification by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on entry-level and skipping issues, resolution of house officers’ salary delays and arrears with the issuance of a pay advisory, recategorisation and issuance of membership certificates by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, the commencement of locum and work-hours regulation committees, and the resumption and timely completion of the collective bargaining agreement process.
Explaining the timing of the action, Suleiman said the one-week notice was intended to allow proper congress meetings, media engagement and statutory notifications to security agencies and hospital management. The development follows a warning issued by NARD on December 28, when it cautioned that the country was heading toward another nationwide shutdown of medical services due to the Federal Government’s failure to honour a Memorandum of Understanding. The association had suspended a 29-day strike on November 29, 2025, after the government pledged to implement its demands within four weeks, a deadline NARD said elapsed without tangible progress. As of the time of filing this report, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had yet to issue an official response.
Source: https://guardian.ng/
