ABUJA, Nigeria – Resident doctors in Nigeria announce a nationwide strike beginning January 12, 2026, escalating tensions between healthcare workers and the Federal Government over unresolved welfare agreements.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) says it will resume its Total Industrial and Clinical Services (TICS) 2.0 strike following the outcome of its Emergency National Executive Council meeting held on January 2.
In a statement issued Sunday, NARD President Dr Mohammed Suleiman says the action, tagged “No Implementation, No Going Back,” will commence at exactly 12:00 a.m. on January 12 due to the continued failure of authorities to fully implement previously agreed terms.
“The decision becomes unavoidable after repeated engagements yield no concrete results,” Suleiman says, stressing that doctors’ patience has been exhausted.
Ahead of the strike, NARD directs presidents of its 91 centres nationwide to hold congresses and brief the media, with 91 press conferences planned within seven days to outline the association’s grievances.
The association also announces centre-based protests from January 12 to 16, followed by zonal demonstrations and a nationwide protest to be led by its National Officers’ Committee. Resident Doctors Announce Nationwide Strike Over Welfare Failures
Key demands include the reinstatement of five doctors dismissed at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja; payment of promotion and salary arrears; and full implementation of the professional allowance table with arrears captured in the 2026 budget.
Other issues include the reintroduction of the Specialist Allowance, delays in house officers’ salaries, regulation of work hours, and the resumption of the Collective Bargaining Agreement process.
NARD says the one-week notice period allows for statutory notifications to security agencies and hospital managements, urging members to remain calm, united and resolute as negotiations continue.
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