Resident Doctors Give FG 30-Day Ultimatum Over Outstanding Demands
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has issued a 30-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to address a series of outstanding welfare and policy demands affecting its members.
The demands include payment of salary arrears, promotion entitlements, and reinstatement of sacked doctors.
NARD members deliberated on critical challenges confronting Nigeria’s health sector during their 45th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference in Katsina State.
The association highlighted excessive and unsafe call-duty hours imposed on resident doctors, the stalled review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure for over 16 years, and persistent non-payment of corrected professional allowances.
The association has urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to develop and implement clear, healthy call duty working hours for doctors in line with international best practices.
Effective October 1, 2025, NARD members will no longer engage in more than 24 consecutive hours of call duty.
The Federal Government has been asked to expedite actions on the activities of the Collective Bargaining Agreement in completing the long-overdue review of CONMESS and to clearly state and implement the relativity in professional allowances between the CONMESS and CONHESS salary structures.
NARD demands the immediate release of the corrected tables of the professional allowances for medical doctors and payment of all accumulated promotion arrears owed to members across federal institutions within 30 days.
The association also demands the reinstatement of five sacked medical doctors at Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, within 30 days.
The association expressed concern over worsening brain drain, exclusion of house officers from the Civil Service Scheme, decaying hospital infrastructure, and the government’s failure to implement agreed pension benefits.
Specific attention was drawn to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, with a demand to urgently resolve welfare concerns of resident doctors at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho.
