Ibadan: UCH resident doctors suspend strike

Resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan have returned to work after a nationwide strike that lasted one month.

The strike began on Nov 1, following a directive from the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which asked its members across the country to withdraw their services over unresolved issues with the government.

NARD had called for a 200 per cent increase in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), full implementation of new allowances proposed since July 2022, and the immediate recruitment of clinical staff. The association also sought the removal of delays affecting the replacement of doctors who leave the system.

The President of the UCH branch of NARD, Dr Gboyega Ajibola, stated that the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) met on November 29 to review the situation. He explained that the government had addressed most of their immediate and short-term demands.

According to him, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the government, outlining each demand and how it would be carried out.

“Based on the satisfactory terms of the MoU, the NARD NEC decided to suspend the industrial action and give the government a period of four weeks to re-appraise the efforts of the government as contained in the signed MoU.

“Having suspended the strike on Nov. 29, as in the tradition of NARD, each centre was mandated to hold a congress on Dec 1, for all centre presidents to brief their members on development.

“After the brief, the centre presidents will direct all members to resume at their duty posts.

“In compliance with this, a congress was held at 8.00 a.m. today (Monday), where members were updated and directed to resume work,” he said.

Ajibola noted that all members had resumed duty on Monday as directed.

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