By Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
The President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Muhammed Usman Suleiman has again called on the Federal Government to reinstate five doctors dismissed by the management of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja (FTHL).
Dr. Suleiman made the call on Tuesday during a press conference in Lokoja, lamenting that the affected doctors have remained out of work for over a year.
According to him, the doctors were allegedly dismissed in October 2024, May, and August 2025by the hospital’s management under the former Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr. Olatunde Alabi, over their involvement in union activities.
The NARD President recalled that during the association’s 45th Annual General Meeting (AGM), a 30-day ultimatum was issued to the Federal Government to meet several welfare and policy demands affecting doctors nationwide.
“Today marks the 18th day of the 30-day ultimatum NARD gave the Federal Government to address our demands, which include the reinstatement of the five sacked doctors at FTH Lokoja,” Suleiman said.
He explained that NARD’s demands also include payment of outstanding promotion arrears,salary arrears dating back five years, and unpaid 25% and 35% salary increments and entitlements.
Dr. Suleiman warned that Nigeria’s healthcare system is facing a serious crisis, with one doctor attending to over 9,000 citizens, far above the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended ratio of one doctor to 600 people.
He urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene urgently by reinstating the dismissed doctors to ease the workload on existing medical staff, warning that failure to act could lead to a “national health disaster.”
“NARD is ready to engage in dialogue with the Federal Government to resolve these issues because that is the only way to curb brain drain in the health sector. Enough is enough,” he added.
Dr. Suleiman also commended the new Acting CMD of FTH Lokoja for his cooperation and urged him to partner with NARD in ensuring justice for the affected doctors.
He stressed the need for the government to sustain ongoing negotiations with doctors and other health workers to promote industrial harmony and strengthen the country’s healthcare system.
