Resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have returned to duty after a nationwide strike that lasted for one month.
The strike, which began on November 1, was initiated by directives from the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) after the government failed to meet several long-standing demands. These included a 200% increase in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, implementation of new allowances proposed since July 2022, recruitment of more clinical staff, and the removal of bureaucratic delays affecting the replacement of departing doctors.
Speaking on the development, the President of the UCH chapter of NARD, Dr. Gboyega Ajibola, said the NARD National Executive Council met on November 29 to review the government’s response. According to him, the government had addressed most of the immediate and short-term demands presented by the association.
Ajibola explained that a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the agreed demands and implementation timelines was signed with the government. Satisfied with the terms, the NARD NEC resolved to suspend the strike for four weeks to allow the government time to deliver on its commitments.
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He added that, following NARD’s usual procedures, each centre held a congress on December 1 to update members. After the briefing, centre presidents instructed all resident doctors to resume work.
Ajibola confirmed that all resident doctors at UCH returned to their duty posts on Monday.
