Resident doctors in Nigeria have stepped back from strike action after a memorandum of understanding was signed with federal authorities, ending weeks of stalled hospital services across the country.
The work stoppage began on November 1 when Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors President Mohammad Suleiman confirmed that members had downed tools in a “total, comprehensive, and indefinite” nationwide strike, citing unresolved welfare and system failures.
The union said its demands spanned fair pay structures, unpaid salaries owed to doctors, better working environments, staffing reinforcements, and improved medical equipment.
The doctors also pointed to the strain of long work hours and chronic shortages of infrastructure, saying the pressure was affecting care standards for patients.
NARD warned that the intensity of workloads was “directly affect[ing] the quality of healthcare delivered” to Nigerians.
Announcing the strike suspension on Saturday via X, Suleiman said the decision followed negotiations and a formal agreement committing to timelines on key issues.
“The National Executive Council of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has resolved to suspend the ongoing total, indefinite and comprehensive strike action,” he wrote.
He said the MoU covers the status of all 19-point demands earlier put forward by the doctors. Among unresolved items, Suleiman mentioned delays in processing promotion arrears, which must still be finalised by hospital chief executives.
“The deadline for the payment of the promotion arrears is in four weeks,” Suleiman said, adding that collation by “chief medical directors and/or medical directors (CMDs/MDs)” was still incomplete.
The MoU also sets a four-week window for clearing unpaid salaries, while the federal civil service office has instructed that specialist allowance details be clarified for implementation through the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.
Suleiman further said an official panel had endorsed the reemployment of the “Lokoja 5” into Nigeria’s Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, with full rollout “within two weeks,” while a recommendation for their reinstatement into clinical roles at the facility was scheduled to take effect inside a fortnight.
A separate resolution approved by a government committee also backs their return to the Federal Teaching Hospital system, which NARD said should be operative “within the next four weeks.”
On other allowances tied to doctors’ working gear and operational needs, Suleiman said discussions had secured clarity that payments, including the accoutrement allowance, were already in active processing.
He shared progress notes on 25% and 35% salary-linked allowances and the accoutrement payout, which he said were part of the signed commitments.
NARD said further reviews of hospital conditions are planned to track compliance against the agreed timelines, as doctors return to wards amid assurances of monitored follow-through.
