FG Explains Dispute With Resident Doctors, Says Allegation of Neglect False

• N90bn approved for health workers, Salako reveals

•NARD: Our strike threat not politically motivated

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The federal government said yesterday that the ongoing standoff with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) was due to structural and policy issues rather than neglect.

A statement signed by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Alaba Balogun, quoted the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, to have said this during a programme on AIT yesterday.

In reaction, NARD dismissed any insinuation that its strike threat was politically motivated and that it was being tele-guided by opposition elements.

Salako said some of the outstanding demands of doctors were constrained by existing civil service rules and approved schemes of service.

He also revealed that, as a mark of its concern for the plight of the workers, the federal government had approved a N90 billion annual increase in health workers’ allowances.

Resident doctors recently threatened to withdraw their services at hospitals nationwide by midnight, January 12, 2026, if their outstanding demands are not met

In a statement released last weekend by the President of NARD, Dr. Mohammed Suleiman, the association had stated: “Following the E-NEC meeting, the NEC resolved to resume total indefinite, comprehensive strike–tagged, ‘No Implementation, No Going Back,’ with effect from 12th January 2026 by 12:00 am.”

However, in response, Salako said the federal government has addressed a substantial number of the doctors’ demands and was on the verge of resolving all outstanding issues.

The Minister outlined the federal government’s actions aimed at addressing resident doctors’ demands and preventing recurring strikes in the health sector.

According to the statement, Salako had affirmed the commitment of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to maintaining industrial peace and ensuring uninterrupted healthcare delivery.

Salako noted that while the government would be pleased to significantly raise health workers’ pay, it must balance such demands with obligations to other sectors, including education, security, and national infrastructure, within the limits of available revenue.

The minister said Tinubu’s administration demonstrated its commitment in November 2025 by approving an upward review of professional allowances for health workers by adding nearly N90 billion to government expenditure annually.

According to Salako, the increment covers call duty, shift duty, non-clinical duty, and rural posting allowances and was reached through joint negotiations involving all health worker groups.

He explained that past negotiations were often fragmented, with different health professional groups engaging the government separately, leading to conflicting agreements on pay parity and relativity and triggering repeated industrial actions.

To address this, Salako said the Ministry initiated and adopted a collective bargaining approach, ensuring that doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, and other health workers negotiated together.

On NARD’s demands, the Minister said the association’s requests have reduced from 19 to nine, indicating progress in talks.

On the demand for specialist allowance for resident doctors, Salako said resident doctors are specialists-in-training and that current regulations reserve specialist allowances for consultants.

The Minister added that the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had advised against extending the allowance to residents, warning it could create similar claims from other health workers undergoing specialist training.

Salako also dismissed claims of inaction on certification issues, explaining that the National Postgraduate Medical College does not issue certificates after passing Part I examinations, a policy the Ministry cannot override.

Speaking on the controversy surrounding five resident doctors disengaged in Lokoja, the Minister said their cases arose from civil service disciplinary procedures.

He disclosed that a Ministerial review committee has recommended reinstatement for two doctors, reprimand for two others, and a fresh disciplinary hearing for one, in line with extant due process.

While acknowledging public concern over frequent industrial actions by doctors, Salako noted that such are a global phenomenon, citing similar disputes in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe.

He assured Nigerians that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, collaborating with the  Federal Ministry of Labour and other stakeholders, remain committed to dialogue that would stabilise the health sector, ensure industrial harmony and  prevent future disruptions to healthcare services.

Meanwhile, NARD yesterday dismissed any insinuation that its strike threat was politically motivated and that it was being tele-guided by opposition elements.

The association insisted that their action became inevitable after weeks of delays and shifting of positions by the federal government , amidst worsening welfare conditions of members.

It rejected assertions by the federal government that its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government, which led to the suspension of a previous strike, had been implemented, stressing that none of the agreed demands had been fulfilled.

NARD also expressed concern over the government’s claim that N90 billion had been allocated for health workers’ allowances in the 2026 budget.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, Suleiman, flanked by other union leaders, said the association’s position was driven solely by the obligation to protect the welfare and safety of its members, not by partisan interests.

He stressed it would be illogical for resident doctors to align with political actors who lack the authority to address their grievances.

“Now, you think I want to spoil the chances of my members getting their due diligence by going into romance with the opposition. Is the opposition in government? Do they have the responsibility to solve this problem? It is the people in government who have the responsibility to solve this problem,” Suleiman said.

According to him, NARD remains committed to engaging the current administration because it believes the government has both the mandate and capacity to resolve the issues.

He added: “There is a government in power. And we are loyal and responsible patriotic Nigerians who believe that the government can solve our problems.

“If we do not believe that this government can solve our problems, we will not have even brought it to their table in the first place. We have the conviction that this government can solve this problem. As a union leader, I cannot afford not to have the conviction that this government can solve our problems.”

The NARD President appealed to Tinubu to intervene decisively in the health sector crisis.

Suleiman said, “We believe this government is responsive and responsible. We believe that the President of the country, President Bola Tinubu, will hear our cry.

“He will hear our call to him to come in and solve the welfare of not just resident doctors, but the entire health sector once and for all.”

Explaining why the strike had become unavoidable, the NARD president said agreements reached with the federal government had repeatedly stalled, with new conditions introduced and some even reversed without consultation.

“Now, today, what we are hearing is that the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) has to do a job evaluation before CBA can continue, and that that job evaluation must last six months. This has not been communicated to us, but it has been communicated to Nigeria’s public freely today in the media. So it is like the goalpost keeps changing,” he said.

Suleiman said the National Executive Council (NEC) of NARD had already taken a firm position, “The NEC categorically stated if these issues are not sorted out, we will down tools. So that is the message from the NEC,” he said.

He noted that despite signing the MoU on November 27, and contrary to Salako’s claims, there had been no tangible progress.