The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors says it has reached agreements with the Federal Government on timelines for resolving outstanding salary, promotion and allowance issues, but has not yet called off its planned strike.
NARD President Dr. Mohammed Usman Suleiman made the disclosure after meeting with the President's Chief of Staff and several government officials, including the ministers of Labour, Health and Finance, the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, the Accountant-General of the Federation and officials responsible for cash management and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.
Suleiman said the meeting had resolved several issues affecting resident doctors, with government agencies given timelines to implement the agreements.
"Today, I can tell you, our matters are solved," Suleiman said, adding that salary and promotion issues were expected to be addressed within a week.
He said the government had also agreed on figures and numbers relating to outstanding payments and had made arrangements concerning house officers, who he said should no longer have to wait a month to receive the previous month's salary.
According to Suleiman, the Chief of Staff had issued a standing order that house officers must receive their salaries before the 10th of every month.
The meeting also considered the table for professional allowances. Suleiman said the government had provided more clarity on the issue and indicated that the outstanding amount was lower than initially expected.
He said the Director-General of the Budget Office was expected to provide a timeline for payment, while government officials had discussed ways to raise the necessary funds.
On the association's collective bargaining agreement, Suleiman said the Chief of Staff directed the ministries of Labour and Health to accelerate negotiations so that the agreement could be completed and its financial implications captured in the 2027 budget.
He said the agreement would allow the government to make the necessary budgetary provisions and implement whatever is reached in the negotiations.
The meeting also addressed the safety of doctors and other health workers following a series of assaults in hospitals.
Suleiman said 31 doctors and more than 20 other health workers had been assaulted in the past 10 months.
He said the Health Ministry would issue directives to hospitals to strengthen security and create safe spaces for health workers, while also engaging the public through education campaigns against assaults on medical personnel.
Suleiman said the Chief of Staff had also undertaken to introduce legislation that would make assaulting health workers an aggravated offense.
"We think it will send the right signal that health workers should not be assaulted," he said.
Despite the agreements, Suleiman said NARD had not called off its planned strike.
"I can't stand here and tell you I have called off a strike," he said, adding that the government's intervention had "moved the needle to a very large extent" toward resolving the doctors' grievances.
Suleiman clarified that the outstanding allowance at the centre of the dispute involved 19 months of arrears.
He said the government began paying resident doctors 40% of their actual accrued allowances about seven years ago, but the current administration corrected the payment structure in February.
However, he said the implementation did not cover the entire seven-year backlog and instead covered payments from July 2024.
The 19-month backlog from that date is what the government has agreed to pay, Suleiman said.
He declined to disclose the amount publicly but said the actual figure was significantly lower than the association had initially estimated and was therefore more affordable for the government.
Suleiman said the union's National Executive Council would now consider the outcome of the meeting before deciding whether to continue with the strike.
"I have National Executive Council members. I will have a conversation. I have to report all of this back. We'll sit down, we'll take a decision," he said.
He also stressed that NARD's confidence in the latest intervention was partly based on the track record of the President's Chief of Staff, whom he said had previously intervened in disputes involving resident doctors.
Suleiman recalled that the Chief of Staff had intervened in matters concerning resident doctors about six or seven years ago when he became Speaker of the House of Representatives.
"Whenever he came into our issues, our matters are solved," Suleiman said.
The resident doctors' association is expected to announce its position on the strike after its National Executive Council considers the government's commitments.
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