Resident doctors at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State, have resolved to embark on an indefinite strike following the Federal Government’s persistent failure to fully implement agreements reached with their national body.
The industrial action is expected to begin from midnight on January 12, 2026.
The President of the Association of Resident Doctors, FMC Abeokuta, Dr. Quadri Olanipekun in a press conference held on Thursday, said the decision was reached at an Emergency General Meeting held virtually on Wednesday, January 7, following a review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered into between the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and the Federal Ministries of Health and Social Welfare, as well as Labour and Employment.
Reading the communique, Dr. Olanipekun said the strike, tagged “No Implementation, No Going Back” (TICS 2.0), was in line with the directive earlier issued by NARD after what they described as “unacceptable delays, ambiguities and outright non-compliance” with agreements covering welfare, remuneration and professional practice.
He voiced the association’s concern over the redeployment of five disengaged resident doctors of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, to another teaching hospital, noting that it violated the recommendations of a committee set up to address the issue.
He also bemoaned the non-implementation of authorised professional allowances, the failure to include accrued arrears in the 2026 national budget, and the ongoing delay in transmitting promotion and salary arrears owed to doctors in various institutions to the Budget Office and the Federal Ministry of Finance for payment.
The doctors also decried the ongoing ambiguities surrounding entry-level placement and skipping, the exclusion of qualified members from specialist allowance payments in spite of explicit orders from the Federation’s Office of the Head of the Civil Service, and the delays in house officer salary payments, including one to six-month arrears.
Other unresolved issues, according to the communiqué, include the continued re-categorisation and delayed issuance of membership certificates by regulatory bodies, prolonged delays in regulating locum engagements and excessive work hours, discontinuation of the collective bargaining agreement process, and failure to reconcile unpaid arrears arising from the 25 and 35 per cent upward review of CONMESS and accoutrement allowances, affecting about 40 per cent of members.
They called attention to the “worsening state of infrastructure and obsolete equipment” in federal health facilities, stressing that they unanimously resolved to fully comply with the nationwide strike directive, adding that there would be no exceptions.
Dr. Olanipekun directed all members to hand over patients to consultants before the commencement of the strike, while departments with exceptional or emergency clinical situations were asked to formally notify the association’s leadership for guidance.
He noted that to ensure compliance, an Enforcement and Strike Monitoring Committee will be constituted warning members to refrain from all clinical and administrative duties during the strike and to rely solely on official communication channels to avoid misinformation.
Meanwhile, they disclosed plans to stage a peaceful protest within the hospital premises on Monday, January 12, should their demands remain unmet by the Federal Government.
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