Tinubu Orders Health Ministry to End Resident Doctors’ Strike
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to take swift and decisive steps to end the ongoing strike by resident doctors and ensure their immediate return to duty.
The directive, PulseNets learnt, came amid growing public frustration over the nationwide disruption of healthcare services across federal hospitals.
Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Salako, disclosed the President’s instruction yesterday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the government’s efforts to restore normalcy in the health sector.
Salako, who apologised to Nigerians affected by the industrial action, assured that the Federal Government was doing everything possible to bring resident doctors back to work.
“President Tinubu has made it clear — we must ensure that resident doctors resume work without further delay,” the minister told reporters.
According to Salako, the government has been in constant dialogue with the leadership of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) over 19 unresolved issues raised by the union.
PulseNets obtained that the dispute stemmed from a circular issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), which caused friction among healthcare professionals. The circular was later withdrawn to allow for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) involving the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), and the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).
Salako revealed that the CBA committee had held 12 sessions before negotiations were suspended due to disagreements over salary structures and the appointment of non-doctor health workers as consultants.
To break the deadlock, the ministry engaged a professor of industrial relations to mediate between the aggrieved unions, with an interim report already submitted to the Federal Government for review.
The minister further told PulseNets that the Tinubu administration had recruited over 14,000 new health workers in 2024 and plans to employ an additional 23,000 personnel across 78 federal health institutions before the end of the year.
He also disclosed that President Tinubu approved an upward review of the retirement age for clinical health workers to 65 years, while N21.3 billion had been released to clear outstanding arrears — with 60 percent already disbursed to beneficiaries.
Also Read: Tinubu Govt Extorted $50 Million from U.S. to Release Me — Ex-Binance Executive Alleges
Salako appealed to the striking doctors and other unions to cooperate with the government in building sustainable industrial peace in the health sector, stressing that collaboration remains vital for efficient service delivery.
“The health sector functions as a team; no cadre can thrive effectively in isolation,” he emphasised.
