The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has threatened to resume its suspended nationwide strike from Jan. 12, 2026, insisting that its members will not return to work until all their demands are fully met.
NARD disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday, following a virtual National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the association.
The association explained that the one-week window before the planned action was strategic, to allow for proper congress meetings, media engagements and statutory notifications of the protest to security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS), the Commissioner of Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, as well as hospital managements.
NARD said that at the end of the meeting, the NEC resolved to resume TICS 2.0, tagged “No Implementation, No Going Back,” with effect from Jan. 12, 2026, by 12:00 a.m.
According to the association, the NEC also mandated all centre presidents across its 91 centres to hold congress meetings and subsequently address press conferences.
It added that the NEC further directed that centre-based protests would hold from Jan. 12 to Jan. 16, 2026, after which regional protests would be organised at the caucus leaders’ level.
The statement said that a national protest would also be organised by the NARD National Officers’ Committee (NOC).
However, NARD noted that the NEC agreed that the suspension of TICS 2.0 would only be considered after the full implementation of some minimum demands.
These demands, it said, include the re-instatement of the FTH Lokoja five, and the payment of promotion and salary arrears.
Other demands listed are the full implementation of the professional allowance table, with arrears captured in the 2026 budget; official clarification on skipping and entry-level issues by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to chief executives; and the re-introduction and implementation of the specialist allowance.
The doctors also demanded the resolution of House Officers’ salary delays and arrears, with the issuance of a pay advisory; re-categorisation of membership certificates and issuance of certificates post Part I by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN); commencement of locum and work-hours regulation committees; and the resumption and timely conclusion of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) processes.
The NEC assured members of its full commitment to the resolutions, stressing that engagements would be intensified in the coming days.
