The Federal Government has moved to defuse rising tensions in the health sector, pledging to clear seven months of salary arrears owed to medical workers before August 2025 ends. The commitment came during emergency talks in Abuja between Health Minister Prof. Ali Pate and leaders of healthcare unions facing mounting pressure from their members.
The intervention follows a 21-day strike ultimatum from the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the recent suspension of a nurses’ warning strike.
At the meeting attended by NMA, NANNM, JOHESU and Humanitarian Affairs officials, Prof. Pate stated: “We are fully committed to resolving these arrears and addressing systemic challenges in our healthcare system under President Tinubu’s directive.”
Union leaders responded with guarded optimism. NMA President Prof. Bala Audu and JOHESU’s Comrade Kabiru Minjibir acknowledged the government’s pledge but stressed that only concrete action would prevent disruptive industrial action.
“Our members’ patience is wearing thin,” one leader noted privately.
With healthcare services already stretched thin, stakeholders warn that failure to deliver could trigger Nigeria’s first full-scale health sector strike in two years, potentially paralyzing hospitals nationwide.
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