Mirian Gom 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has suspended its indefinite strike, which began 29 days ago and severely disrupted services in federal hospitals across the country.
The suspension followed an “extraordinary” National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Saturday. Confirming the development, NARD President Dr Muhammad Suleiman said that the strike had been suspended for four weeks, with further details to be communicated later.
NARD embarked on the strike on 1 November after a NEC meeting on 25 October, citing the federal government’s failure to meet long-standing demands, including unpaid salary arrears, poor working conditions, delayed promotions, and the non-implementation of the one-for-one replacement policy to address workforce shortages.
In its earlier communiqué, the association warned that prolonged duty hours and excessive workloads—exacerbated by the migration of health professionals abroad—posed serious risks to doctors’ well-being and patient safety. “The current unsustainable practice of spanning duties across several days poses serious risks,” the statement said.
The doctors’ demands include immediate payment of all outstanding arrears and allowances, improved hospital infrastructure, urgent replacement of departing doctors, and full inclusion of house officers in the civil service scheme.
While the strike suspension offers temporary relief to patients nationwide, NARD emphasised that the suspension is to allow time for constructive engagement with the federal government. The association warned that failure to achieve meaningful progress could result in renewed industrial action.
The strike, which brought many federal hospitals to a near standstill, is one of several industrial disputes affecting Nigeria’s health sector in recent years and highlights deep-seated challenges of manpower shortages, inadequate funding, and deteriorating infrastructure.
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Oluwatobi Adu 
Korede Abdullah 
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