NARD says only two of 19 demands receiving attention
Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State branch, has announced its support for the ongoing nationwide strike by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) as action entered its seventh day.

The association blamed the Federal Government for neglecting doctors’ welfare, delaying arrears, and allowing leadership to weaken the healthcare system.

Speaking yesterday during a press briefing in Lagos, NMA Lagos Chairman, Dr Babajide Saheed, said doctors could no longer remain silent. He said: “The government’s refusal to meet NARD’s 19-point demands and the failure of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare to engage with NARD leadership within the stipulated period is a clear act of negligence.”

Kehinde urged the Federal Government to urgently meet all outstanding demands to prevent a total collapse of tertiary health services. He also warned against any attempt to threaten or punish striking doctors, describing their action as “lawful and necessary.”

Saheed criticised the Federal Government for failing to reconstitute the Boards of Management in federal tertiary hospitals dissolved for more than two years.

He said the absence of the boards had created “a dangerous vacuum oversight, allowing unchecked excesses and abuse of power.” He spoke just as the strike entered its seventh day across 91 hospitals.

The nationwide indefinite strike was declared by NARD on November 1, 2025, after its ultimatum to the Federal Government expired.The strike has disrupted services in 91 hospitals, including teaching hospitals, Federal Medical Centres, and specialist institutions across the country.

NARD President, Dr Mohammad Suleiman, said, “Our demands are neither new nor unreasonable; they represent the minimum requirements for a sustainable healthcare system.”

The Federal Government had promised partial payment. On November 3, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Salako, appealed to doctors to suspend the strike and resume duty. But NARD insisted that the strike would continue until full payments and structural reforms were verified.