BREAKING: Resident Doctors Shut Down Hospitals Nationwide Amid Escalating Welfare Crisis

By Emmanuel Kwada

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has shut down public hospitals across the country, commencing a five-day warning strike at 8:00 a.m. today. The industrial action, affecting teaching and specialist facilities from Lagos to Kano, is paralyzing emergency services and routine care for millions, as resident doctors—key to the nation’s medical workforce—walk off the job in protest over unpaid salaries, poor working conditions, and unresolved welfare demands.

‎The strike follows an exhaustive online National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on September 10-11, where members unanimously resolved to halt operations until Tuesday, September 16, 2025. NARD’s communiqué, signed by General Secretary Agbor Affiong, demands immediate payment of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund for over 2,000 doctors, arrears from the 25-35% Consolidated Medical Salary Structure review, 2024 accoutrement allowance backlogs, and prompt specialist allowances.

Additional grievances include the restoration of recognition for West African postgraduate membership certificates, issuance of certificates by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, resolution of welfare issues in Kaduna State, and support for striking doctors at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso.

‎NARD President Osundara Zenith decried “inhumane” conditions, citing chronic power shortages, manpower deficits, certificate downgrading, and inadequate remuneration amid Nigeria’s economic woes. This nationwide shutdown builds on the FCT chapter’s separate seven-day warning strike that began September 8, already straining Abuja’s hospitals.

‎Patients and families are reeling, with non-emergency procedures canceled and long queues forming at private clinics. Health experts warn of potential health crises, echoing past strikes that led to fatalities and brain drain in the sector. The Federal Ministry of Health has yet to respond, but a meeting with FCT leaders is slated for September 9—now overshadowed by the broader action.

‎As Nigeria grapples with inflation and insecurity, this strike underscores the fragility of its healthcare system. NARD urges swift government intervention to avert a full-blown crisis. Updates as they unfold.