The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has launched a five-day nationwide warning strike, which began at 8 a.m. on Friday, September 12, 2025, despite reassurances from the Federal Government that industrial action would be avoided.
Resident doctors, who are medical graduates undergoing specialist training, play a vital role in emergency and specialist healthcare services across Nigeria’s hospitals.
The strike was confirmed following an emergency meeting of NARD’s National Executive Council (NEC), where members unanimously voted in favor of the action.
“Following the E-NEC meeting held on Wednesday, 10 September 2025, and concluded in the early hours of Thursday, 11 September, the NEC resolved to embark on a five-day warning strike,” the association stated.
The strike, set to end on Tuesday, 16 September, was declared after a 24-hour ultimatum to the Federal Government expired without a resolution. This ultimatum followed an earlier 10-day deadline that also lapsed on September 10.
The decision was officially communicated in a message titled “Declaration of Strike Action”, signed by NARD Secretary-General Dr. Oluwasola Odunbaku.
“Good morning NEC members, thank you all for your continued cooperation and understanding. As clearly stated in our earlier communique, the strike is scheduled to commence at 8:00 a.m. today (Friday). All centre leaderships are expected to guide their members accordingly. Further updates will be shared with NEC members in due course,” Odunbaku wrote.
