The National Association of Resident Doctors at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital has announced its decision to join the nationwide indefinite strike scheduled for January 12.

The scheduled nationwide strike is to press home the implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed on November 29, 2025.

The chapter’s president, Haruna-Saleh Usman, disclosed this during a press conference in Zaria on Friday.

Mr Usman said that in addition to down tools, the ABUTH chapter would embark on picketing and peaceful protests within the hospital premises.

He explained that the action followed a congress meeting in which members unanimously endorsed proceeding with an indefinite strike, coupled with peaceful protests.

“This press conference is to further press home our demands after the signing of an MoU between NARD and the federal government, which had clear timelines for implementation,” he said.

According to him, NARD had earlier embarked on a nationwide strike on November 1, 2025, but after extensive consultations, it culminated in the signing of an MoU on November 29, 2025.

The MoU, he noted, was based on 19 demands related to welfare, remuneration, and professional practice issues affecting resident doctors nationwide.

Mr Usman said one of the key provisions of the MoU, with a two-week implementation timeline, was the reinstatement of disengaged resident doctors from the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, Kogi.

“Unfortunately, these members have not been reinstated. Instead, the government is attempting to redeploy them to other hospitals, contrary to the clear provisions of the MoU,” the president lamented.

He explained that many of the affected doctors were already advanced in their residency programmes and due for examinations, stressing that redeployment would force them to restart their training.

“We consider this an injustice and unacceptable,” he added.

Mr Usman also faulted delays in forwarding compiled promotion arrears owed to resident doctors in some institutions to the Budget Office and the federal finance ministry  for payment.

He further said that the full implementation of the approved professional allowance table, including accrued arrears, remained unachieved and was not captured in the 2026 national budget.

The association, he said, also expressed concern about the continued ambiguity surrounding skipping and entry-level placement, urging the Federal Ministry of Health to issue clear directives to the chief executives of health institutions and other relevant stakeholders.

According to him, the decision of the ABUTH chapter to re-join the nationwide strike was due to the federal government’s failure to demonstrate a “clear, concrete and genuine commitment” to the implementation of the MoU.

(NAN)