The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced plans to resume its Total, Indefinite and Complete Strike from January 12, 2026, following what it described as the Federal Government’s failure to implement agreements reached with the association.
The doctors had last week warned of an imminent shutdown of medical services nationwide after the government failed to honour a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed to end their previous industrial action.
In a statement issued on Saturday and signed by its President, Dr Mohammad Suleiman, the association said the decision was taken at an Emergency National Executive Council (E-NEC) meeting held on Friday. The strike, tagged “No Implementation, No Going Back,” is scheduled to commence at 12:00 a.m. on Monday, January 12, 2026, unless the government meets its outstanding obligations.
NARD also announced plans for coordinated nationwide protests alongside the strike. Centre-based demonstrations are expected to take place across hospitals between January 12 and January 16, with regional and national protests to follow if demands remain unmet.
As part of preparations, the NEC directed presidents of all 91 NARD centres nationwide to convene congress meetings and subsequently address the media, the association said at least 91 press conferences would be held across the country within seven days to draw attention to unresolved doctors’ welfare issues.
The doctors said the renewed strike was unavoidable, citing the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Government’s failure to implement key aspects of the MoU. Under the agreement, which led to the suspension of the last strike on November 29 after 29 days, the government committed to meeting NARD’s demands within four weeks.
The demands include the reinstatement of five resident doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja; payment of promotion and salary arrears; full implementation of the professional allowance table with arrears captured in the 2026 budget; reintroduction of the specialist allowance; resolution of house officers’ salary delays; and progress on the Collective Bargaining Agreement process.
NARD said the one-week notice period was to allow for statutory notifications, congress meetings, media engagement, and coordination with security agencies and hospital managements.
