Tinubu orders immediate end to doctors’ strike

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to take urgent steps to end the ongoing strike by resident doctors and ensure their immediate return to work.

Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Salako, made this known while addressing journalists on Monday in Abuja. He said the President’s order followed growing concern over the disruption of medical services across the country.

Salako apologised to Nigerians affected by the strike and assured that the government was doing “everything possible and legitimate” to resolve the crisis.

“Mr. President has expressly directed that we must ensure the resident doctors resume work without delay,” he said.

The minister explained that the government had been in talks with leaders of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) over 19 demands raised by the union.

He said the dispute began after a circular by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) caused division among health workers. The circular was later withdrawn to allow for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) involving all unions, including the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), and the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

Salako added that although the CBA committee had met 12 times, disagreements over salaries and the appointment of non-doctor health workers as consultants led to a temporary suspension of talks.

To resolve the crisis, the ministry hired a professor of industrial relations to mediate between the unions, and an interim report has already been submitted.

He also disclosed that the Federal Government had recruited over 14,000 health workers in 2024 and plans to hire another 23,000 across 78 federal health institutions this year.

Salako revealed that President Tinubu had approved an increase in the retirement age of clinical health workers to 65 years and released ₦21.3 billion to clear outstanding arrears — with 60 percent already paid.

He urged health unions to cooperate with the government to achieve lasting peace in the sector, stressing that reforms must be handled carefully to ensure sustainability.

“The health sector works as a team. No cadre can function effectively in isolation,” he said.