The Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has declared a total and indefinite nationwide strike, commencing at midnight on Saturday, November 1, 2025. The decision was announced by NARD President, Dr. Mohammad Usman Suleiman, during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday.
The strike is a response to the federal government’s failure to address longstanding grievances, including the non-payment of an estimated N38 billion in salary arrears owed to approximately 50,000 healthcare workers over the past two years. Dr. Suleiman revealed that the country’s health sector is facing a catastrophic manpower shortage, with the number of resident doctors plummeting from over 20,000 a decade ago to just 11,000 today.
“You cannot find a permanent secretary, a director, a minister, a member of the House of Representatives, a senator, even a councillor at the world level, who owed this amount of arrears. But then, essential workers, like health workers, teachers are being owed this series of allowances,” Suleiman stated.
He lamented that this is the first time in three years the association has been forced to declare a total strike, noting that five previous NARD presidents had engaged the government in the same unresolved conversations. The union’s demands include the immediate payment of outstanding allowances, the reinstatement of five unjustly dismissed members, and the restoration of the value of membership certificates.
In a direct appeal to President Bola Tinubu, Dr. Suleiman said, “Mr. President, you are presiding over a nation where doctors have not received their rightful duty, even before you became President… We are doctors who just want to go back to our hospitals, our wards, our clinics to see our patients. But while we are doing that, it’s not asking too much to collect the minimum salaries and our allowances.”
He urged the President to intervene, stating, “You are the father of the nation. Come into this matter, weigh in on it, and solve it for us.”
The strike will involve the complete withdrawal of services by all resident doctors in federal and state tertiary health institutions until the government demonstrates a genuine commitment to resolving the 19-point demands.
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