- ·Patients Stranded As Resident Doctors Comply With Strike Order
- ·NAFDAC Busts Fake Medicine Syndicate, Seizes N1.2bn Fake Malaria Drugs
Public hospitals across the country have been grounded as doctors under the aegis of the National Association of Resident Doctors NARD have commenced a five-day nationwide warning strike.
This is coming after the expiration of a 10-day notice to the federal government.
Activities at popular hospitals like University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), and National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, Lagos (NOHIL) have been grounded, leaving thousands of patients unattended.
At the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, a good number of nurses and other health workers are on duty, but resident doctors in solidarity with their counterparts nationwide have suspended their services.
At the UCH, many patients at the accident and emergency unit of the hospital were denied admission because there were no doctors to attend to them.
A security officer, who did not want his name published, said that no patient has been admitted since he resumed duty early on Friday morning.
The situation is no different at LUTH, NOHIL and Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba amongst others.
A patient at the General Out-Patients (GOP) Clinic, Mr Kazeem Ajibade, said that a few patients were attended to early in the morning, while others were sent back around 8.00 a.m., the time fixed by the doctors to commence their strike.
President of the Association of Resident Doctors, UCH, Dr Gboyega Ajibola, said that the strike, which commenced by 8.00 a.m. on Friday, was to draw the government’s attention to their demands, which remained unattended to.
Ajibola said that it’s a warning strike to last for five days, as agreed at the last meeting of the National Executive Council of NARD.
He said that the strike would be called off if a minimum demand is met.
The demands that we have been talking about are about five, which are the unpaid 2025 medical residency training funds to over 2,000 of our members across the geopolitical zones of the country.
“The salary arrears of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) Review of 2023 and unpaid 2024 equipment allowance,” the ARD president said.
It would be recalled that NARD announced the industrial action after what it described as government inaction on long-standing demands.
In a message titled “Declaration of strike action” and signed by NARD Secretary-General, Dr. Oluwasola Odunbaku, on Friday, the association confirmed the commencement of the strike.
“Good morning, NEC Members, thank you all for your continued cooperation and understanding. As clearly stated in our earlier communique, the strike is scheduled to commence at 8:00 am today (Friday).
“All Centre leadership is expected to guide their members accordingly. Further updates will be communicated to NEC members in due course,” he said.
Among the grievances are the non-disbursement of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund, payment of five months’ arrears from the revised Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, and outstanding specialist and hazard allowances.
NARD said the decision followed a six-hour virtual Extraordinary National Executive Council meeting, after the expiration of its ultimatum to the government — a 21-day deadline issued in July 2025, later extended by 10 days, which lapsed on September 10.
The doctors then gave the government a final 24 hours, which expired on Thursday, September 11.
The E-NEC expressed disappointment that, despite these repeated extensions, the Federal Government had still failed to address critical welfare issues, leaving the association with no choice but to proceed with industrial action.
In another development, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced the seizure of suspected counterfeit malaria drugs worth N1.2 billion in Lagos.
In a statement on Friday, NAFDAC said operatives intercepted 277 cartons of the fake drug named Malamal Forte in a warehouse in the Ilasa-Oshodi area of the Lagos metropolis.
The agency said the counterfeit drugs were illegally imported from China, disguised as spare parts, and concealed in cartons labelled Diclofenac Potassium 50mg.
“NAFDAC has intercepted 277 cartons of counterfeit and unregistered Malamal Forte malaria drugs, valued at over ₦1.2 billion, in a warehouse located in the Ilasa-Oshodi area of Lagos State,” the statement reads.
“The fake drugs, which were concealed in cartons labelled as Diclofenac Potassium 50mg, were illegally imported from Shanxi Tianyuan Pharmaceuticals Group in China.
“They were falsely declared as spare parts in the shipping container.”
Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC’s Director-General (DG), said the agency remains determined to rid the country of fake and substandard medicines.
“This seizure is part of NAFDAC’s sustained nationwide operation to protect public health and ensure only safe, quality medicines are available to Nigerians,” she said.
