Resident doctors give FG 30 days to settle arrears
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has issued a 30-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to fulfill a series of unmet welfare and policy requests that impact its members.
These requests encompass the payment of salary arrears, entitlements to promotions, and the reinstatement of dismissed doctors.
The resolutions were documented in a communique signed on Sunday by NARD President, Mohammad Suleiman; Secretary-General, Shuaibu Ibrahim; and Publicity and Social Secretary, Abdulmajid Ibrahim, at the conclusion of the association’s 45th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference, which took place in Katsina State from September 21 to 26, 2025.
During the meeting, titled “Mitigating health worker migration through extra-remuneration incentives: A strategy for sustainable development,” NARD members discussed significant challenges facing Nigeria’s health sector.
The AGM also signified a change in leadership, with Suleiman being elected as President to replace Tope Osundara, who completed a one-year term.
On September 12, NARD initiated a five-day warning strike. However, it was suspended after two days following the allocation of funds for the overdue Medical Residency Training Fund, allowing the Federal Government two weeks to respond to its issues.
In this context, the AGM acknowledged a variety of unresolved matters that jeopardize doctors’ welfare and the health system.
The association pointed out the excessive and hazardous call-duty hours imposed on resident doctors, the stalled review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure for more than 16 years, and the ongoing non-payment of adjusted professional allowances, resulting in extended salary deficits.
It emphasized that doctors in federal tertiary hospitals are owed several months of promotion arrears, exacerbating hardship and lowering morale, while denouncing the casualization of doctors, the termination of five doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, and delays that contravene the Medical Residency Training Act.
NARD has also expressed concern over the escalating brain drain, the exclusion of house officers from the Civil Service Scheme, deteriorating hospital infrastructure, and the government's failure to implement the agreed pension benefits.
The communique further condemned the establishment of consultant positions for non-medical doctors, the reduction in recognition of postgraduate membership, and the lack of application of CONMESS circulars at all levels of government and institutions.
However, NARD has resolved that starting October 1, 2025, its members will no longer participate in more than 24 consecutive hours of call duty, in accordance with international best practices.
The communique stated, "The AGM urges the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to formulate and enforce clear, healthy working hours for call duty for doctors, consistent with international best practices. In the meantime, the AGM instructs that, effective October 1, 2025, members should refrain from engaging in more than 24 hours of uninterrupted call duty.
The AGM calls upon the Federal Government to hasten the processes related to the Collective Bargaining Agreement in finalizing the long-overdue review of CONMESS and urges the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to explicitly define and implement the relativity in professional allowances between the CONMESS and CONHESS salary structures to ensure fairness and adequate compensation.
“The AGM demands the immediate release of the corrected tables of the professional allowances for medical doctors. The AGM demands that the Federal Government urgently pay all accumulated promotion arrears owed to our members across all federal institutions within 30 days. The AGM calls on the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, to grant Chief Executives of hospitals less encumbered means of employing doctors and replacing those who have left the system to reduce excessive workload on existing members. This can be done through the implementation of a one-for-one replacement policy proposal.
“The AGM gives the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Management of FTH Lokoja 30 days to reinstate the five sacked medical doctors. The AGM demands the prompt settlement of all arrears arising from the 25 per cent/35 per cent upward review of the CONMESS, the 2024 Accoutrement Allowance arrears, and other outstanding salary arrears within 30 days.
“The AGM demands the reversal of the dangerous trend of the creation and employment of consultant cadres of non-medical doctors in the health sector. The AGM urges the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to immediately restore full recognition of West African postgraduate membership certificates to their previous status and calls on the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria to commence immediate issuance of membership certificates to deserving candidates, in line with global best practices.”
The AGM also called for a decentralized and efficient process for the upgrading and promotion of doctors, aimed at enhancing both training effectiveness and clinical service delivery in accordance with the Medical Residency Training Act. It insisted on the prompt initiation of specialist allowance payments to doctors, acknowledging their crucial role in specialist care.
The AGM further urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to ensure the seamless and ongoing employment of doctors, as a measure to address the brain drain crisis and to ensure adequate healthcare services across the nation.
Moreover, it advocated for the inclusion of Medical and Dental House Officers in the Civil Service Scheme, guaranteeing that they receive timely and rightful payments along with the prompt issuance of payslips.
Particular attention was directed towards Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, with a request to urgently address the welfare issues of resident doctors at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho.
The AGM also demanded the full implementation of all CONMESS circulars across federal, state, and private institutions, which includes medical colleges, university health services, research institutes, and regulatory bodies. Additionally, it supported medical entrepreneurship among resident doctors as a means to diversify income and fortify the healthcare system.
Regarding policy and advocacy, the AGM resolved to enhance engagement with the National Assembly to secure adequate budgetary allocations for healthcare and training in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
It also called for the immediate execution of previously agreed special pension benefits for doctors.
