The National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA_UNILAG) has issued a final three-week ultimatum to the Federal Government, threatening a warning strike followed by an indefinite industrial action if their demands are not met by August 31.

The academics, driven by widening pay disparities, bureaucratic delays, and a mounting internal brain drain made this known yesterday at a media briefing at the University of Lagos College of Medicine (CMUL), Idi-Aba, Lagos.

Speaking at the briefing, Chairman, National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter, Prof. Andrew Ugburo, voiced the growing frustration within the union, warning that the NAMDA’s history of avoiding industrial action has led government authorities to take their patience for granted.

He stated that there exists a stark pay gap between medical doctors working in university faculties and their counterparts employed directly by federal teaching hospitals and medical centres.

Prof. Ugburo explained that despite undergoing identical specialised training, medical academics carry a double burden: treating patients and taking students on demanding call-duty shifts, while simultaneously lecturing, conducting research, and grading the next generation of doctors. Despite this workload, doctors working strictly within hospital settings earn significantly higher pay.

“After extensive training as a specialist, you find that the salary of a similarly qualified person in the teaching hospital is more than that of a medical and dental academic. That has led to what we call an internal brain drain. Specialists are given appointment letters in universities, but many turn them down to work in federal medical centres,” he stated.

Ugburo said while other academic unions have reached agreements with the Federal Government that resulted in prompt payment of allowances, NAMDA’s key entitlements have remained trapped in red tape.

According to him, although an agreement was reached on February 18, 2026, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) has failed to issue the necessary official circulars. He added that without a formal circular, vice-chancellors across the country have refused to disburse the approved funds for fear of violating public spending laws.

The union is therefore calling on the Federal Government to bridge the pay gap between medical lecturers and hospital consultants in the CONMESS.

The body wants the government to provide crucial financial support through the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA), thereby enabling researchers to attend international conferences, maintain professional training, and keep medical curricula up to global standards.

The union also wants the government to provide Call-Duty & Clinical Teaching Allowances for the around-the-clock clinical training provided to medical students.

NAMDA stressed that striking was their absolute last resort. While interventions by the Directorate of State Services (DSS) and top officials within the Ministry of Education have helped delay initial action, continuous postponements by salary commission officials have exhausted the union’s patience.

An initial 21-day ultimatum issued on July 6 expired on August 2 without a formal meeting from government negotiators. Demonstrating restraint, NAMDA’s Emergency National Executive Council (E-NEC) extended the window by an additional three weeks, effective August 15.

If the August 31 deadline passes without a resolution, the union plans to initiate a three-day nationwide warning strike. Should the government continue to ignore their demands, an indefinite strike will follow, halting undergraduate and postgraduate medical education across Nigeria.