President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to ensure that members of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors who are on strike resume work immediately.

The directive was disclosed by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja, following the total and indefinite strike declared by NARD on Saturday.

Speaking at the briefing, Salako said, ?I would like to update Nigerians on the challenges around the ongoing strike action by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors. First, on behalf of myself and the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, and all the top management staff of the ministry, we would like to express our regrets and unconditional apology to Nigerians, especially those who needed to access health care in the last 48 hours, who could not do it as a result of the strike action by NARD.

?I want to use this opportunity to assure Nigerians that Mr President has expressly directed that we do everything possible and legitimate to ensure that the resident doctors are brought back to their duty posts as soon as possible.?

The minister explained that the government had been engaging the leadership of NARD to resolve the issues behind their industrial action.

Salako revealed that the striking doctors had presented 19 separate demands, which the ministry was addressing one after another.

He provided background on the dispute, recalling that a circular issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) in July had caused division among health sector workers.

According to him, some groups in the health sector protested against the contents of the circular, while others welcomed it.

The ministry, he said, sought a review because it did not accommodate the interests of all health professionals.

?We approached the National Salaries and Wages Commission and the Presidential Committee on Salary Increase, and the circular was therefore withdrawn,? Salako stated.

He noted that a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) process was initiated in August to unify discussions across all health sector unions, including the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), and the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

?Between August and now, we have had 12 meetings of the CBA. But in the course of that CBA meeting, two issues came out that were very controversial,? he said.

According to the minister, one of the disputes was between groups advocating relativity in remuneration and others insisting on parity, both of which he described as mutually exclusive.

?You cannot talk about parity in one breath as government, and also talk about relativity in another breath as government. They are mutually exclusive. And we felt that it was important to come back home to resolve that issue,? he stated.

The second contentious issue, he said, was the appointment of some non-doctor health workers as consultants in 2020, which caused discontent among doctors.

?For us, we felt that it was an issue that we had to come and discuss in-house to resolve, and that is what led to a temporary suspension of the CBA.

?The ministry engaged an external consultant, a professor of industrial relations, to serve as a negotiator on these two critical issues and other matters that may arise during discussions with the health unions.

?That negotiator has met the three health unions, has submitted an interim report. We have met again with all the unions combined in the presence of the negotiator to further discuss, and the government is trying to put together a recommendation to the CBA on these two issues. That is why the CBA was temporarily halted. It was in the course of that suspension that NARD issued its ultimatum,? he emphasized.

Salako noted that despite the CBA rule against industrial action while negotiations are ongoing, several meetings had been held to address the doctors? concerns.

?Ideally, one of the key requirements of the CBA is that while it is ongoing, there should be no declaration of industrial disputes. But despite that, we met with NARD. I met with them twice last week.

?The Minister of Finance, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, and the Minister of State for Finance have also met with them to try and address all the 19-point issues they raised. Today, I can tell you that most of those issues are being addressed,? he said.

Responding to NARD?s complaint about unregulated work hours and manpower shortages, the minister said the government had approved massive recruitment in the health sector.

?In 2024 alone, the Federal Ministry of Health, using a special waiver mechanism that no other sector enjoys, was able to engage 14,444 health workers across 64 federal tertiary health institutions. 78.1 per cent are clinical staff. Out of those clinical staff, 908 are consultants and 3,064 are resident doctors.

?In 2025, so far, using the same waiver mechanism, we have given approval, and recruitment is already ongoing across 78 federal tertiary health institutions for the employment of 23,059 health workers. 71.1 per cent of them are clinical staff. 868 are consultants and 2,629 are residents, also the second highest,? he said.

Salako added that Tinubu had approved the increase of the retirement age for clinical health workers to 65 years, noting that the policy was undergoing final establishment procedures before implementation.

On financial demands, the minister said the government had released substantial funds to offset outstanding arrears and allowances.

?The sum of N21.3bn has been released for the settlement of these arrears. At least 60 per cent of NARD members have received an alert. It is still re?aining at about 40 per cent, and we are going to follow up with the Accountant-General and the Pay Office to ensure that the other 40 per cent are properly paid,? he said.

He added that N11.995bn had been processed for additional arrears, while N10bn had previously been paid to all health workers in August, and another N10bn had been paid exclusively to resident doctors through the Medical Residency Training Fund.

Addressing concerns about poor infrastructure in health facilities, Dr. Salako urged journalists to visit hospitals nationwide to verify the government?s ongoing improvements since May 2023.

He stressed that President Tinubu remained committed to bridging gaps in the health sector and ensuring sustainability in all agreements.

?There is no slow progress. What is happening is that we?re taking our time to ensure that everything we need to take on board is taken on board, so that whatever solution we agree on will be a sustainable one.

?The health sector is teamwork. No professional in the health sector can work independently of others. What happens to cadre A affects cadre B. We cannot treat their issues independently of one another,? he added. (The PUNCH)

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