THE Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is set to call off its planned nationwide strike after reaching a breakthrough with the Federal Government during a three-hour meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday evening.
News Point Nigeria reports that the meeting, convened by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, ended with both sides agreeing on specific timelines for resolving outstanding disputes over salaries, promotions, allowances and other welfare concerns that had pushed the association to the brink of industrial action.
Speaking after the meeting, NARD President, Dr. Muhammad Suleiman, expressed optimism that virtually all the issues raised by the association had been resolved.
“Today, I can tell you, our matters are solved,” Suleiman declared, while noting that the association would still consult its National Executive Council (NEC) before making a formal announcement suspending the planned strike.
The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Labour, Health and Finance, the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, the Accountant-General of the Federation, as well as officials responsible for cash management and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
Briefing journalists, Suleiman said the association secured firm commitments from the government on nearly every outstanding issue affecting resident doctors.
“This is not the first time the Chief of Staff has intervened in matters relating to resident doctors in this country.
“About six or seven years ago, when he became Speaker, it was the first opportunity he had to intervene, and he has always intervened. Whenever he came into our issues, our matters were solved,” Suleiman stated.
He disclosed that clear implementation timelines had been agreed for salary and promotion-related matters.
“Timelines have been agreed upon by various agencies of government on salary and promotion areas.
“We are talking about the meal issue at LUTH; we are talking about a week for implementation. We have agreed on a figure. We have agreed on numbers,” he said.
Addressing the recurring delay in the payment of salaries for house officers undergoing their mandatory one-year internship, Suleiman said the Presidency had issued a standing directive to ensure prompt salary payments.
“We also talked about house officers, so that they don’t have to wait a whole month before they get the previous month’s salaries.
“In fact, he has given a standing order that before the 10th of every month, salaries of house officers must be paid,” he said.
On the Collective Bargaining Agreement between NARD and the Federal Government, Suleiman disclosed that the Presidency had directed the Ministries of Labour and Health to expedite negotiations so that any agreed terms could be incorporated into the 2027 budget for implementation.
“The conversations have been very, very robust,” he added.
The NARD president also raised concerns over the growing attacks on health workers, revealing that 31 doctors and more than 20 other health workers had been assaulted within the past 10 months.
“Today we have agreed. The Ministry of Health is going to release directives to their hospitals to beef up security and create safe spaces.
“The Ministry of Health is going to engage the public in public education for health workers not to be assaulted,” he revealed.
According to Suleiman, Gbajabiamila also pledged to champion legislative reforms aimed at protecting health workers.
“The Chief of Staff has taken it upon himself to introduce legislation so that the National Assembly can come in with something that will make assaulting health workers an aggravated offence.
“We are very glad about that. We think it will send the right signal that health workers should not be assaulted,” he stated.
Speaking on the lingering dispute over unpaid hazard and specialist allowance arrears, Suleiman explained that the issue dates back about seven years, when resident doctors began receiving only 40 per cent of their accrued allowances instead of the full entitlement.
He said although the Tinubu administration corrected the shortfall in February 2026, the implementation did not fully address the accumulated backlog, leaving a 19-month arrears gap dating back to July 2024.
When asked to disclose the outstanding amount, Suleiman declined.
“Don’t push me to mention amounts on TV. We actually had a figure, but when we looked at the reality today, the actual figure, it came down.
“We thought it was a humongous amount. Now the reality is the numbers are much lower, so it’s much more reasonable. It’s much more affordable for government,” he said, adding that the Budget Office would provide a definite payment timeline.
Despite expressing confidence in the outcome of the meeting, Suleiman insisted that he could not single-handedly announce the suspension of the planned strike.
“I can’t stand here and tell you I have called off a strike. What I’ll do, I have the utmost confidence that what he (Gbajabiamila) has done today has moved the needle to a very large extent to have solved our matters, and we’ll wait for more,” he said.
He stressed that the final decision rests with the association’s National Executive Council.
“I have National Executive Council members. I will have a conversation. I have to report all of this back. We sit down. We take a decision.
“The point is, the person that called us for this conversation has never failed resident doctors. That is what I am emphasising,” Suleiman added.
However, a source familiar with the discussions disclosed that NARD leaders had privately assured Gbajabiamila that the planned strike would be suspended.
“They have already assured that they are going to call off the planned strike. That’s what we agreed.
“The Chief of Staff told them, ‘Don’t tell me you’re going back to your people to consult. That’s why I invited all of you to come here (State House), so you can decide here,’” the source revealed.
Tuesday’s meeting came just days after NARD threatened to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike from August 10 if the Federal Government failed to address outstanding salary arrears, welfare concerns and other longstanding issues affecting its members.
The association announced the planned industrial action in a communiqué issued after its National Executive Council meeting in Gombe State, where it reviewed the implementation of previous agreements reached with the Federal Government.
NARD, which represents doctors undergoing specialist training in Nigeria’s teaching and specialist hospitals, had warned that its proposed total and comprehensive nationwide strike would commence at 8 a.m. on August 10 unless all outstanding demands were addressed before the deadline.