The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, had on the 5th of July, 2023, issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet all their demands or risk indefinite strike. The ultimatum, which ended on Wednesday, July 19, was issued following the Federal Government failure to honour the Memorandum of Understanding they signed with the resident doctors on May 21, 2023.
It would be recalled that NARD embarked on a five-day warning strike on May 17 to get its demands met by the Federal Government. The demands which include 200 percent review of their Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), payment of 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), issuance of a circular by the Federal Ministry of Health for replacement of doctors and nurses that have left the system with new ones, payment of salary arrears, improvement in hazard allowance by state governments, among others. The strike was called off after signing a MoU with the Federal Government to address the issues raised by the association.
However, due to the non implementation of all pending agreements by the Federal Government, the association gave the ultimatum and vowed to embark on an indefinite strike if its demands were not met at the end of it. Today at the University College Hospital, Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, the strike took immediate effect as at 12pm. Henceforth Residents are not to be sighted on the wards doing any medically related activity as doing so attracts a fine of ten thousand naira for everytime they are sighted.
We now await further information from the association on their next course of action following the end of the ultimatum.
Ibrahim Olagunju
