Nigeria resident doctors have called for an immediate payout of outstanding arrears and the cancellation of several important decisions in light of the nationwide strike that will kick off today, April 7, 2026, potentially disrupting healthcare service delivery in public hospitals.
According to the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the reason behind the action is a government’s decision to suspend the implementation of the updated Professional Allowance Table (PAT) and failure to clear outstanding dues owed to members of the association.
“NARD considers this development unfortunate, as the federal government has pushed resident doctors into yet another industrial action which would have been avoided,” the association said in its press release.
The strike, according to the association, is meant to protest against several key policies adopted by the government that adversely affect doctors’ well-being and job satisfaction.
Some of its key demands include the reversal of the decision to suspend the PAT, clearing outstanding promotion and salary arrears, settling outstanding 19 months’ allowance arrears, and disbursement of the Medical Residency Training Fund for the year 2026.
Already, doctors’ plans for a total and comprehensive strike may affect operations in both federal and state hospitals, with the cost being paid by patients.
As of April 2026, resident doctors under President Bola Tinubu’s regime have lost a cumulative total of 51 days from work due to various reasons related to the health care sector.
Analysis of past actions by the medical community suggests that there is a recurring theme in disputes between resident doctors and governments. For instance, in August 2023, NARD declared an 18-day total strike motivated primarily by the issue of welfare and living standards, especially amid the increased costs of living following the removal of fuel subsidies.
Doctors’ complaints included the inadequacy of compensation and failure to take economic inflation into account when determining salaries. However, the issue goes beyond the lack of fair compensation, with the union also raising the problem of non-disbursements of allowances, insufficient funding, and worsening working conditions.
In addition, the migration of many doctors to countries with better pay and working conditions has left some with a heavy workload. At the heart of the ongoing dispute lies the suspended professional allowance table, which sets out call-duty and other allowances.
