The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has declared that it will resume a total and indefinite strike across the country from 12:00 a.m. on Monday, 12 January 2026, citing the Federal Government’s failure to implement agreed welfare demands within an earlier deadline.
The announcement was made on Friday, following an Extraordinary National Executive Council (E-NEC) meeting held on January 2, 2026, and was shared on X by the association’s President, Dr. Mohammed Suleiman.
In a statement signed by Dr. Suleiman, NARD stated that the industrial action — tagged TICS 2.0 — will be suspended only after the full implementation of its demands.
“NEC resolved to resume TICS 2.0 tagged ‘No Implementation, No Going Back’ with effect from 12th January 2026 by 12:00 am,” the statement read.
Dr Suleiman further directed the presidents of the association’s 91 centres nationwide to convene congress meetings and brief the media within the next seven days as part of preparations for the strike.
“NEC has also mandated every centre President from the 91 centres to hold a congress meeting and, at the end, do a press conference. We want 91 press conferences to saturate the spaces over the next seven days,” he said.
In addition to withdrawing services, NARD announced that centre-based protests will accompany the strike from January 12 to 16, 2026, with planned regional protests to follow before a national demonstration is organised by the National Officers Committee.
Among the association’s core demands are the reinstatement of the “FTH Lokoja five” doctors, payment of promotion and salary arrears, and the full implementation of the professional allowance table with arrears captured in the 2026 budget, alongside the reintroduction and implementation of the specialist allowance.
Other outstanding issues include the provision of an official clarification on entry-level and skipping concerns by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, resolution of house officers’ salary delays and arrears with the issuance of a pay advisory, and recategorisation of membership certificates along with certification after Part I examinations by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN).
The association is also demanding the establishment of locum and work hour regulation committees, as well as the resumption and timely conclusion of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) process.
Explaining the timing of the announcement, Dr Suleiman said, “The one-week window provided is strategic to allow proper congress meetings, media engagement, and statutory notifications of the planned protest to security personnel… as well as hospital management.”
The development follows a warning issued by the association on 28 December 2025, when it cautioned that Nigeria was heading towards a fresh nationwide shutdown of medical services due to the government’s failure to honour a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed after a previous strike.
NARD had earlier suspended a 29-day strike on 29 November 2025 after the government committed to implementing its demands within four weeks — a deadline the association says passed without “visible progress”.
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