BARRING a change in the current frosty relationship between Nigerian doctors and the federal government, medical practitioners under the aegis of National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD) will proceed on strike on April, 1, 2021, to protest failure of federal government to pay house officers working in federal tertiary institutions across the nation.

Notice of the impending strike was contained in a communique issued at the end of extraordinary national executive council (NEC) meeting of NARD on Saturday, March 28, 2021.

The NEC observed that its earlier ultimatum given to the federal government during a January meeting would expire by midnight on the 31st of March, 2021, “with no significant achievement.”

It said though it supported the central placement of house officers by the federal government, failure of the government to pay house officers for three months had made them pass through pains.

The ICIR had on March 14 reported how rift between the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) and chief medical directors of public tertiary hospitals in the country denied house officers undergoing housemanship programme in the hospitals of their three months’ salaries.

Okorie Venatus, the doctor who collapsed after reportedly working for 72 hours at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital early this month, is among the doctors who are being owned by the government. He told The ICIR that he had not been paid a dime as emolument since January 1, 2021 by the government.

Further findings by our reporter revealed that only 19 out of 42 tertiary hospitals have paid house officers working for them, despite directive by a committee set up by the Speaker of the House of Representative Femi Gbajabiamila that all the doctors be paid without delay – at a meeting that took place at the House of Representatives between March 10 and March 12, 2021.

House officers are graduates of medical schools who are employed to be further trained for a period of one year. The process, known as housemanship, enables the interns to acquire more practical knowledge by working in hospitals and getting paid. The housemanship programme is required to enable the doctors to participate in the compulsory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme. Experience garnered during the housemanship helps the practitioners to excel in places of their primary assignment.


Speaking with The ICIR on failure of the government to pay the doctors after the directive of the Gbajabiamila’s committee, chairman of House Committee on Health Care Service Yusuf Sununu, said he had not got an update from government and the doctors on what had transpired so far.

He said he would reach out to the leadership of NARD and MDCN. “I don’t have report on current situation. Our agreement is that NARD and MDCN should update us. If I haven’t seen update, I can’t comment.

“I’ve been trying my best. When I came, I met a lot of problems. Even the arrears, we fought it out. This one, we had a meeting and we agreed that they would update us. I’ve not heard from them,” the lawmaker added.

He noted that if the update showed that the issue had not been resolved, the parties would be summoned and the agreement would be reviewed.

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/nigerian-doctors-begin-strike-april-1-over-delayed-salaries-others/