Prosper Okoye
A Nigerian court has stopped resident doctors from going ahead with a nationwide strike, as the government insists it has already taken steps to address their demands.
The National Industrial Court in Abuja issued an order on Friday barring the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) from beginning an industrial action planned for 12 January.
The ruling followed an application filed by the federal government and the attorney general, arguing that the strike would disrupt essential health services.
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Justice Emmanuel Subilim granted the order after hearing submissions from lawyers representing the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Resident doctors had earlier announced plans to resume what they described as a total and indefinite strike, citing delays in the payment of allowances, salary arrears and the non-implementation of agreements reached with the government.
But the government says it has acted in good faith.
Earlier this week, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said the administration had approved an annual ₦90bn increase in health workers’ allowances, following negotiations across the sector.
Speaking in a television interview, Dr Salako said the revised allowances cover call duty, shift duty, rural posting and other non-clinical responsibilities, and were finalised in November 2025 through a joint bargaining framework involving doctors, nurses and other health professionals.
He said the approach was designed to prevent repeated strikes caused by separate negotiations with different groups.
The minister added that NARD had reduced its demands from 19 to nine, which he described as a sign of progress, but said some requests could not be met immediately because of existing civil service rules.
“These rules reserve certain allowances for fully qualified consultants, not resident doctors,” he said.
The doctors’ association had suspended a similar strike in November, after 29 days of industrial action, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the government.
Under that agreement, the government pledged to address key demands within four weeks, including the payment of outstanding arrears and the resolution of issues affecting house officers’ salaries.
Nigeria’s public hospitals have faced repeated disruptions from industrial disputes, raising concerns among patients and health advocates about access to care.
It was not immediately clear whether NARD would comply with the court order or seek to challenge it.
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