esident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, on Friday downed tools in compliance with the strike declared by their national body, leaving scores of patients stranded.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) had, after a 10-day ultimatum to the Federal Government expired, commenced a five-day nationwide warning strike on Thursday.
A NAN correspondent who visited the hospital observed that many patients at the Accident and Emergency Unit were turned back as there were no doctors available to attend to them.
A security official, who declined to be named, confirmed that no patient had been admitted since his resumption of duty on Friday morning.
At the General Outpatients’ (GOP) Clinic, a patient, Mr. Kazeem Ajibade, said that only a handful of patients were attended to early in the morning before services were completely halted around 8:00 a.m., when the strike officially commenced.
Speaking on the development, the President of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), UCH branch, Dr. Gboyega Ajibola, explained that the action was a warning strike intended to draw government’s attention to long-standing demands.
He said the strike, which began at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, would last for five days as agreed during NARD’s last National Executive Council meeting, but could be called off if minimum demands were met.
According to him, the doctors’ demands include:
- Payment of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund owed to over 2,000 members nationwide,
- Settlement of salary arrears under the 2023 Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) review,
- Payment of the outstanding 2024 equipment allowance.
Ajibola further lamented the delayed recognition and non-issuance of postgraduate certificates, urging the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to engage NARD in dialogue to resolve the matter.
He added that resident doctors in some states had been grappling with neglect of welfare packages. For instance, doctors in Kaduna have been on strike since August 1 over non-payment of the 2024 CONMESS scale, while their counterparts at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, have also embarked on indefinite strike action demanding implementation of the new minimum wage, unpaid residency training funds, and more manpower.
“We want a swift response to these issues so that we can return to work and continue serving our patients without hindrance,” Ajibola stressed.