President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to take decisive action to end the ongoing strike by resident doctors and ensure their prompt return to work.
Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Salako, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja while addressing journalists.
He said the President’s directive followed mounting public concern over the nationwide disruption of healthcare services.
Salako apologised to Nigerians affected by the strike and assured that the Federal Government was working tirelessly to restore normalcy in hospitals.
“Mr President has expressly directed that we must ensure resident doctors resume work without delay,” the minister stated.
According to him, the government has been in continuous dialogue with leaders of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, regarding 19 outstanding issues raised by the union.
He stated that the dispute originated from a circular issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, NSIWC, which created division among healthcare professionals.
It was gathered that the circular was later withdrawn to pave the way for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, CBA, that includes the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, NANNM, and the Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU.
Salako noted that the CBA committee had convened 12 meetings before talks were suspended due to disagreements over salary structures and the appointment of non-doctor health workers as consultants.
To bridge the divide, the ministry engaged a professor of industrial relations to mediate between the disputing unions, with an interim report already submitted to the government.
He revealed that the Tinubu administration recruited over 14,000 health workers in 2024 and plans to employ an additional 23,000 personnel across 78 federal health institutions within the year.
The minister also announced that the President approved an upward review of the retirement age for clinical health workers to 65 years and released N21.3 billion to offset outstanding arrears, with 60 percent already disbursed.
Salako appealed to the striking doctors and other unions to cooperate with the government in achieving lasting stability within the health sector, emphasising the importance of collaboration.
“The health sector operates as a team; no cadre can function effectively in isolation,” he said.
