NARD Strike: Resident Doctors suspend planned nationwide protest

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has canceled the nationwide protest it had scheduled for today, Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

Additionally, the ongoing strike by resident doctors is probably going to end soon.

After meeting with Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other Principal Officers of the Senate at the National Assembly in Abuja on Tuesday, Dr. Emeka Innocent Orji, the association’s national president, informed newsmen of the cancellation.

NARD intended to start peaceful protests on Wednesday and picket the Federal Ministry of Health, the Office of the Head of the Federal Civil Service, as well as the federal and state tertiary health institutions across the nation.

According to DAILY POST, on July 26, 2023, NARD began an indefinite strike after giving the government a two-week deadlines to accommodate its demands.

Along with other demands, doctors want the one-for-one replacement policy for healthcare workers implemented, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to stop downgrading membership certificates issued by West African Postgraduate Medical and Surgical Colleges, the immediate payment of all salary arrears, the implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, a new hazard allowance, and the domestication of the Medical Residency.

After meeting with the Senate leadership, Orji stated that they had very high hopes for the outcome of their discussions when they were brought before the NEC.

He said, “From our interaction with the President of the Senate and the practical demonstration he did before us today, we are very confident that there will be light at the end of the tunnel in the next 24 hours.”

The planned national protest had been called off as a result of Akpabio’s intervention and the assurance he had provided, he said, adding that they would decide how to proceed with the current strike as soon as they met.

Senator Akpabio expressed gratitude to the doctors for upholding the Senate’s honor.

He reassured them that their demands had been taken into consideration and promised that the Senate would work quickly to resolve all of their complaints as soon as a Minister in charge of Health was named.