Welfare: Doctors Set July 21 To Begin Indefinite Nationwide Strike

Doctors under the aegis of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) have concluded plans to commence indefinite strike at the expiration of a subsisting 21-day ultimatum on July 21, 2025.

NMA said it will call out members of all its affiliate bodies across the country should the federal government fail to meet their demands.

The Chairman, NMA Akwa Ibom state branch, Dr. Aniekan Imo Peter, explained that the action followed years of ill treatments in areas of welfare and remunerations with payment they said do not commensurate with services being rendered.

Addressing Journalists at the Doctors’ Mess in Uyo, the state capital, Dr. Peter lamented that the insensitive disposition to medical workers’ welfare has forced hundreds of members to seek greener pastures abroad including some developing countries like Ghana, Togo and Cameroun, with higher emoluments and favourable work conditions than Nigeria.

He expressed dismay that Nigerian doctors were being frustrated and subjected to extreme hunger with poor salary at average of N300,000.

The NMA Chairman stressed that Nigerian doctors were earning like their counterparts in other states like Ebonyi with higher emoluments, not to talk of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States and Saudi Arabia, where salary of medical professionals runs in millions of Dollar.

A communique following the emergency extraordinary meeting of the branch, signed by Dr. Peter and Secretary, Dr. Edesiri Horodge, described the pay rise for medical professionals as released by the National Salary, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) as “sad, insulting, and insensitive to the medical workers,” and called for its rejection.

“The meeting was called to brief members on the 21-day ultimatum issued by the National Officers Committee (NOC) of the NMA to the Federal Government of Nigeria in response to the circular issued by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) regarding the review of allowances for Medical and Dental Officers in the Federal Public Service,” he recalled.

“Our members referred to the circular “as unjust, demoralizing, and a clear breach of existing agreements, which undermines the value and welfare of medical professionals in the public sector.

“The circular is a violation of previously established Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), representing a blatant disregard for the welfare of doctors who have continued
patriotically to serve this nation under dire conditions and capable of accelerating the ongoing brain -drain in the health sector,” they stressed

While commending the NMA National President, Prof. Bala Audu and his NOC Executive for promptly addressing this issue and issuing a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, the state branch also joined others to reject the circular.

The demands of the NMA include a living minimum wage with at least 300 percent pay rise for all medical and dental practitioners and universal applicability of all salary adjustments and allowances for medical and dental practitioners in state, ministries departments and agencies (MDAs), private sector and the Universities.

Others include the immediate withdrawal of the circular on review of allowances for medical dental officers in the federal public service dated 27 June 2025; immediate correction of consequential adjustments in line with the agreements of 2001, 2009, and 2014 CBAs.

The medical workers also demanded the immediate correction of the relativity agreement between CONMESS and CONHESS and compliance with relativity in all professional allowances in accordance with the 2001 CBA, especially regarding call duty allowances and payment of all accrued backlogs.

The doctors further demand immediate settlement of all outstanding areas of 25-35 percent CONMESS, clinical duty and accruement allowances owed to medical and dental practitioners; payment of Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) for 2025 and review of the MRTF to reflect prevailing economic realities, amongst others.