The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has declared an indefinite nationwide strike beginning at 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, citing what it described as the Federal Government\u2019s plan to halt the implementation of the revised Professional Allowance Table, a key component of agreements reached after its 2025 industrial action.\n<\/p>\n
The decision, which threatens to disrupt healthcare services across public hospitals in Nigeria, was reached at the end of the association\u2019s virtual Extraordinary National Executive Council meeting held on Saturday.\n<\/p>\n
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, NARD National President, Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim, described the development as \u201cunfortunate,\u201d blaming the Federal Government of Nigeria for pushing doctors toward another industrial action.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe National Executive Council was informed about the Federal Government\u2019s decision to remove the Professional Allowance Table, a development deemed unfortunate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing extensive deliberations, the NEC resolved to embark on a total industrial and comprehensive strike beginning at 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The crisis stems from the implementation of a revised Professional Allowance Table negotiated between NARD and the Federal Government following a prolonged strike in 2025. The agreement included improved remuneration packages for resident doctors, covering call duty allowances, shift allowances, rural posting incentives, and non-clinical duty payments.\n<\/p>\n
Although implementation was initially scheduled to commence in January 2026, delays pushed the rollout to February. However, NARD alleged that the government is now planning to discontinue the process by April, a move the association says undermines trust and violates prior agreements.<\/p>\n
Healthcare analysts note that disputes over allowances and welfare have been a recurring issue in Nigeria\u2019s health sector, contributing to frequent strikes by medical unions, including the Nigerian Medical Association. These disruptions often reduce access to healthcare services, particularly in public hospitals that cater to the majority of Nigerians.\n<\/p>\n
Outlining the association\u2019s demands, Ibrahim called for the immediate reversal of the government\u2019s decision and settlement of all outstanding entitlements.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe demand the reversal of the decision to cease the implementation of the PAT starting in April 2026,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere must be immediate payment of promotion arrears and salary arrears in affected centres, as well as the prompt conclusion of the process of paying the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also insist on the immediate processing and payment of the outstanding 19 months\u2019 arrears of the Professional Allowance.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
He further urged members of the association nationwide to remain united.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NARD leadership calls on its members to unite in the fight against this injustice and to pursue it to a logical conclusion,\u201d Ibrahim added.<\/p>\n
The planned strike raises concerns about the potential impact on Nigeria\u2019s already strained health system. Resident doctors form the backbone of service delivery in tertiary hospitals, handling a large proportion of patient care.\n<\/p>\n
According to health sector data, Nigeria faces a severe shortage of medical personnel, with doctor-to-patient ratios far below the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended standard of one doctor to 600 patients. Estimates suggest Nigeria\u2019s ratio is closer to one doctor per 5,000 patients, particularly in underserved areas.\n<\/p>\n
An indefinite strike could lead to the shutdown of outpatient services, delays in surgeries, and increased pressure on private healthcare facilities, raising concerns among patients and health advocates.\n<\/p>\n
Stakeholders have called for urgent intervention to avert another disruption in the health sector, warning that repeated strikes could worsen the ongoing brain drain among Nigerian doctors seeking better working conditions abroad.\n<\/p>\n
As the strike deadline approaches, attention is now on the Federal Government to engage with NARD and resolve the dispute, with millions of Nigerians potentially affected if negotiations fail.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has declared an indefinite nationwide strike beginning at 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[179708,179709,1391,102,2960,179710,3947,174802,179711,156612,110490,150780,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-514104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-allowance-dispute","9":"tag-doctors-strike","10":"tag-federal-government","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-healthcare","13":"tag-healthcare-services","14":"tag-industrial-action","15":"tag-medical-unions","16":"tag-nard","17":"tag-nigeria-health-sector","18":"tag-public-hospitals","19":"tag-resident-doctors","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}