• Accuse FG of dodging issues
• Demand payment evidence to avoid prolonged strike
• NMA supports doctors, says strike compounding hardship
The Federal Government stated yesterday that it owed health workers only seven months’ arrears of the 25-35 per cent Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), amounting to approximately N41 billion as of August 2025, and had paid more than 66 per cent of the arrears, with only 33 per cent outstanding.
It, therefore, appealed to the protesting doctors to respect the efforts the government was making to address their demands and go back to work.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Adekunle Salako, who disclosed this while briefing journalists on what the government was doing concerning the 19 point demands of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) yesterday in Abuja, disclosed that it paid N10 billion, to health workers in August 2025 and also paid N21 billion on Thursday, while another N12 billion was being processed for payment covering the entire arrears that is being owned them by the government.
Salako, who expressed regrets over the ongoing strike, apologised to Nigerians, especially those who could not access health care in the last 48 hours as a result of the strike action, noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressly directed that they do everything possible and legitimate to ensure that the resident doctors are brought back to work as soon as possible.
But the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) accused the Federal Government of diverting attention from the demands made by the association.
The association called for the prompt clearance of unpaid arrears to avoid further prolongation of the current strike.
In a statement jointly signed by NARD’s President, Dr Muhammad Suleiman; Secretary General, Dr Shaibu Ibrahim; and Publicity and Social Secretary, Abdulmajid Yahaya Ibrahim, the association stated that it had 19 legitimate demands that had been consistently tabled before the Federal Government, stressing that the demands, which were not new, represented the minimum requirements for a sustainable healthcare system and for restoring dignity to medical practice in Nigeria.
They noted that while the ministry claims that over 30 billion had been released to offset arrears owed to health workers, it seemed diversionary from the crux of the demands raised by NARD, adding that the arrears, comprising 25 – 35 per cent CONMESS review, accoutrement allowance, promotion arrears, upgrades arrears, salary arrears, and other entitlements, had all lingered in the last five years without the government offsetting the arrears.
They said: “We challenge the FMoH & SW to publish disaggregated data showing how many of these recruited healthcare workers are doctors, their cadre distribution across the 58 Federal Health Institutions, and how many have since resigned or emigrated.
“Nigeria’s active pool of resident doctors has dropped from 15,000-16,000 a decade ago to barely 9,000-10,000 today, despite a growing disease burden. Poor remuneration, bureaucratic delays in salary payments, and unsafe work environments continue to drive the japa syndrome. The Federal Government should address these root causes; haphazard recruitment of resident doctors will not stem the massive exodus to other climes. What we need is retention, not rhetoric.”
Reacting to the crisis, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) warned yesterday that the current strike action by NARD was not in the country’s interest, stressing that the disruption in social services had added to the economic hardship faced by Nigerians.
The state Chairman of the NMA in Enugu State, Dr Sunny Okafor, gave the warning while addressing a world press conference as part of activities to mark the 2025 Physicians’ Week in Enugu State, explaining that the Federal Government must rise to protect the health sector by encouraging the remaining health professionals in the country.
Okafor, who added that the Enugu State chapter of the Association was fully behind the strike, insisted that it pertained to the remuneration and welfare of the doctors, as well as their input towards improving the health of Nigerians for enhanced productivity.
