The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has suspended its planned indefinite nationwide strike following a series of high-level government interventions that produced concrete commitments on key welfare demands, including the full reinstatement of the reviewed Professional Allowance Table that had been at the centre of the dispute.
The decision emerged from an emergency virtual meeting of the association’s National Executive Council, where members evaluated recent government commitments and concluded that sufficient progress had been made to justify suspending the industrial action while monitoring compliance.
The association had earlier resolved to embark on a total and indefinite strike after the federal government reversed its earlier approval of the reviewed Professional Allowance Table. The reversal had triggered widespread anger among resident doctors who described it as a betrayal of a hard-won welfare commitment. However, following sustained high-level engagements involving President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, ministers, lawmakers, and other key stakeholders, the government reversed its position, with implementation of the allowance now expected to reflect April salaries and subsequent monthly payments.
The National Executive Council noted renewed government assurances to clear outstanding promotion and salary arrears owed to resident doctors across affected institutions, as well as initial approval for the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund, with a commitment to ensure its full disbursement. The Budget Office separately indicated readiness to commence the process for settling a backlog of 19 months of arrears on the professional allowance, a development the association described as a significant step toward resolving long-standing grievances.
Despite the progress, the association expressed serious concern over the continued delay in the payment of house officers’ salaries, calling for an urgent stakeholders’ meeting to address the issue and reach a definitive resolution that would prevent a recurrence of the crisis.
The National Executive Council resolved to suspend the strike while setting a formal timeline to review the level of government compliance at its May Ordinary General Meeting scheduled to take place in Kano. The association maintained a firm position, demanding sustained implementation of the reviewed allowance table, prompt payment of all arrears, and the expedited release of the training fund, and warned that failure to honour these commitments could trigger further industrial action.
In a statement issued by its president, Dr. Mohammad Usman Suleiman, secretary general, Dr. Shuaibu Ibrahim, and publicity and social secretary, Dr. Abdulmajid Yahya Ibrahim, the association acknowledged the roles played by President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima, ministers, lawmakers, and other key stakeholders whose timely interventions averted what would have been a damaging disruption to healthcare delivery across the country.
