ATBUTH Resident Doctors Threaten Strike Over Unpaid Allowances

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, has given the hospital management a two-week ultimatum to settle their outstanding allowances or it would embark on strike.

The doctors said this in a communiqué issued at the end of the association’s hybrid congress meeting signed by the president of ARD, ATBUTH, Dr Adamu Danboza and the general secretary, Dr Salisu Muhammad Mukhtar.

The resident doctors expressed displeasure that, one year after the initial payment, the hospital has failed to release the remaining two tranches of the accoutrement allowance despite repeated appeals and assurances.

They noted that ATBUTH is the only hospital in the Northeast still owing the allowance.

The doctors further condemned the federal government for failing to meet its commitments, pointing out that many resident doctors across the country were yet to receive their 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF).

While commending the efforts of the ARD executives and the NARD Vice President 1 in ensuring that most members had received their MRTF for 2025, as well as arrears for 2022 to 2024, the congress expressed confidence in the leadership’s capacity to secure payment for the few members left out.

In its resolution, the congress demanded the immediate payment of the outstanding allowances, giving management until Wednesday, September 17, 2025, to act.

It warned that failure to comply could jeopardise industrial harmony at the hospital.

The association also mandated its executives to convene an emergency congress at the end of the ultimatum to review the situation and decide on further action.