Patients Stranded As Abuja Resident Doctors Begin Indefinite Strike

Resident doctors under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (ARD-FCTA) commenced an indefinite strike yesterday as their seven-day warning strike ended.

The action has confused many residents of the FCT, particularly patients who cannot afford the high cost of treatment in private hospitals.

At Nyanya General Hospital, a patient, who identified herself as Agatha, narrated her ordeal. She said she had been asked to return this week after the warning strike for further medical attention for a persistent cough and fever.

“I went to a pharmacy near my house and bought malaria and cough medicine, but I am still sick. When I returned to the hospital today, I was told the doctors had started an indefinite strike. I don’t know what to do,” she lamented.

Another patient, Umar Aisha, said her son had been unwell for several days, but she waited until Monday to bring him to the hospital after the seven-day warning strike ended. Upon arrival, she was informed that the doctors had already commenced another strike.

LEADERSHIP reported that hospitals were turning away new patients last week and asking them to return after the warning strike. At Nyanya General Hospital, the situation remained unchanged, with only nurses visible around the premises and the wards, including the emergency unit, nearly deserted.
In a communiqué issued after an Emergency General Meeting on Sunday, September 14, ARD-FCTA said the decision followed the government’s failure to address their long-standing demands despite the expiration of the warning strike.

The doctors, who operate in the 14 District and General Hospitals across the FCT and the Department of Public Health, listed grievances including: Non-payment of salary arrears ranging from one to six months for members employed since 2023, failure to recruit new doctors despite a severe manpower shortage, and non-payment of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF).

Others include non-payment of arrears from the 25/35 per cent CONMESS upward review, hazard allowance arrears, wage award arrears, irregular salary payments, unexplained deductions, delayed promotions and stagnation of Fellows awaiting conversion to Consultant cadre, and the dilapidated state of FCTA hospitals, which they described as “shadows of decay rather than centres of excellence.”

The doctors resolved that the strike would continue indefinitely until the government demonstrated a “genuine commitment to making health in the FCT a priority.”

The President of ARD-FCTA, Dr George Ebong, and General Secretary, Dr. Agbor Affiong, who signed the communiqué, appealed to the government to take urgent action “for the sake of our patients and ourselves.”

Meanwhile, patients across the FCT continue to bear the brunt of the strike, with many left unattended as government hospitals offer only skeletal services.