NARD Strike: Ondo FMC doctors urge FG to meet demands

Doctors in Ondo State under the Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Medical Centre, Owo chapter, have called on the Federal Government to act swiftly to avert a breakdown in healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

The group also expressed readiness to join the nationwide strike scheduled for Monday.

The national body of the ARD, the National Association of Resident Doctors, declared the industrial action to press for the implementation of their demands by the Federal Government.

The planned strike follows the government’s failure to implement the Memorandum of Understanding signed with resident doctors in November 2025.

In a statement on Saturday, the chairman of ARD-FMC Owo chapter, Dada Tosin, said the decision to join the strike was taken after an emergency meeting on Friday.

The association noted that NARD had given the Federal Government a four-week window to implement the agreed demands, but the deadline passed without “meaningful compliance.”

It cited poor welfare conditions, unpaid arrears, and training-related challenges as key reasons for the initial strike action. The group called on the government to meet the doctors’ demands to avert a crisis in the health sector.

The statement read, “The strike action, when it resumes on Monday, will be total and will only be called off when the nine minimum demands are met. The demands include reinstatement of the unjustly sacked doctors of FTH Lokoja, payment of salary and promotion arrears ranging from three to nine months, full implementation of the professional allowance table, and clarification of entry-level issues, among others.”

The ARD-FMC Owo chapter also reaffirmed its solidarity with NARD, stressing its commitment to protecting the welfare, professional dignity, and working conditions of its members.

“We are calling on the Federal Government to act swiftly to avert a breakdown in healthcare delivery in Nigeria,” the statement added