The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), has declared an indefinite strike action.
The decision following repeated failure of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration to honor promises and implement agreements reached with the association.
The resolution was contained in a statement signed by NARD’s president, Mohammad Suleiman, on Saturday,.
The association called on Nigerians, patients, civil society groups, labour unions, religious and traditional leaders, to understand and share in its plights.
Lamenting the current fate of the health sector and its workers, the association’s president listed the demands to include excess workload, unfair remuneration, non-payment of arrears, non-improvement of working conditions, inadequate staffing and non-provision of essential medical infrastructure.
Mr Suleiman stated, “Our demands are not selfish, neither are they politically motivated. They are genuine, germane, and patriotic, centered on the survival of the Nigerian health system and the well-being of every citizen who depends on it.”
“We fight not for personal gain, but for the creation of a system that allows doctors to deliver safe, effective, and compassionate care to patients in an environment that supports their mental and physical well-being. A resident doctor who is overworked, underpaid, and mentally exhausted cannot offer optimal care to the patient who needs them most.”
Describing the decision as a “painful stand to secure the future of Nigerian healthcare, ” the doctors’ association urged Nigerians to see its latest decision as “a struggle for a functional, just and humane healthcare system, one where your doctor can attend to you with a clear mind, a motivated spirit, and access to the tools needed to save lives.”
“We appeal to you to weigh in and urge the government to address our demands urgently, so that hospitals can reopen, doctors can return to their duty posts, and Nigerians can once again access the care they deserve. We always stand with you, and now we ask you to stand with us in solidarity and service to humanity,” the statement noted.
