By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, FMOHSW, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako has revealed the federal government’s plan to end the ongoing National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), nationwide strike action.
Dr. Salako made this known at a press briefing on Monday in Abuja, saying that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the ministry to take all
concrete steps to ensure resident doctors return to hospitals without delay.
The minister apologized to Nigerians for the disruption of medical services and assured them that the government was committed to ending the industrial action and restoring normal services across public hospitals.
“On behalf of myself, the Coordinating Minister, and all top management staff of the ministry, I want to express our regret and unconditional apology to Nigerians, especially those who needed to access healthcare in the last 48 hours.”
“The President has expressly directed that we do everything possible and legitimate to ensure resident doctors are brought back to their duty posts as soon as possible,. Dr. Salako stated.
The minister disclosed that the government is engaging the resident doctors and other health unions to address outstanding issues around wages, allowances, and working conditions.
The minister appealed to resident doctors to return to work, emphasizing that the government recognizes their invaluable service and is committed to their welfare.
To tackle the concerns of manpower shortages, Dr. Salako revealed that the ministry had recruited 14,444 health workers in 2024 and had approved the employment of an additional 23,059 in 2025 across 78 federal tertiary health institutions.
He also announced the establishment of a ministerial task force to monitor hospital operations during the strike and ensure continuity of essential services Meanwhile ,the minister disclosed the release of 21.3 billion by the government to settle outstanding arrears and allowances, with about 60% of resident doctors already receiving payment alerts. An additional 11.9 billion has been processed for payment this week, he said.
He further noted that
10 billion was earlier disbursed exclusively for the Medical Residency Training Fund, which supports doctors’ professional examinations.
