The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has declared a five-day nationwide warning strike, a move that threatens to cripple healthcare services across Nigeria’s teaching and specialist hospitals.
The industrial action, announced in the early hours of Thursday after a marathon online National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, September 12, 2025, and run until Tuesday, September 16, 2025.
Confirming the decision, the General Secretary of the FCT Administration’s Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Agbor Affiong, said all medical centres have been directed to formally notify their hospital managements and ensure strict compliance with the resolution.
> “The NEC members unanimously resolved to embark on a five-day warning strike after considering the unresolved issues affecting the welfare of doctors across the country,” Affiong stated in the communiqué.
The strike comes at a critical time when Nigeria’s already fragile healthcare system is buckling under the weight of a worsening brain drain, inadequate funding, and a severe shortage of medical personnel.
Resident doctors, who form the backbone of medical services in federal institutions, have repeatedly staged walkouts in recent years over unpaid allowances, poor working conditions, and unresolved salary arrears.
With this latest declaration, patients nationwide may face service disruptions in emergency wards, operating theatres, and intensive care units. Hospitals could grind to a halt unless the Federal Government urgently intervenes.
Medical unions have long accused the government of paying lip service to the plight of health workers while failing to honour agreements. This latest strike, though described as “warning,” signals growing frustration among doctors who say their welfare and the nation’s health system are being neglected.
Observers warn that unless quick steps are taken to address NARD’s demands, the warning strike could snowball into a full-blown indefinite shutdown, with devastating consequences for millions of Nigerians who rely on public hospitals.
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