By Ayomide Otitoju
Justice Emmanuel Subilim of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Abuja, has issued an order restraining the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and its members from embarking on the strike scheduled to commence on January 12.
The order was made on Friday while the judge ruled on a motion ex parte filed by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
The ruling followed arguments presented by the Director of Civil Litigation at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Maimuna Lami Shiru, who led a team of ministry lawyers in moving the application.
Listed as respondents to the motion and defendants in the substantive suit are NARD, its National President, Dr. Mohammad Suleman, and the association’s Secretary General, Dr. Shuaibu Ibrahim.
NARD had, on January 3, announced plans to resume its Total, Indefinite and Complete Strike (TICS 2.0) from January 12, citing the Federal Government’s failure to implement agreements reached with the association.
In a statement issued by its president, Dr. Suleman, the association said the decision was taken at an Emergency National Executive Council (E-NEC) meeting held on January 2. According to NARD, the planned strike was an inevitable outcome of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Government’s repeated failure to meet deadlines for implementing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with resident doctors.
As part of preparations for the renewed industrial action, the NEC directed presidents of all 91 NARD centres nationwide to hold congress meetings and subsequently brief the media.
The association said the NEC resolved to resume TICS 2.0, tagged “No Implementation, No Going Back,” with effect from January 12, 2026, and planned to hold 91 press conferences across the country within seven days to highlight doctors’ welfare concerns.
NARD also announced plans for centre-based protests from January 12 to January 16, 2026, to be followed by regional protests at the caucus leaders’ level and a national protest organised by the association’s National Officers’ Committee.
It added that the suspension of TICS 2.0 would only be considered after the full implementation of its minimum demands.
The association had earlier suspended its indefinite strike on November 29 after 29 days of industrial action, following the signing of the MoU with the Federal Government.
Its demands include the reinstatement of five resident doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja; payment of promotion and salary arrears; and the full implementation of the professional allowance table, with arrears captured in the 2026 budget.
Other demands include clarification on skipping and entry-level issues by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare; the reintroduction and implementation of the specialist allowance; resolution of house officers’ salary delays and arrears; issuance of a pay advisory; re-categorisation and issuance of membership certificates after Part I examinations by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria; commencement of locum and work-hours regulation committees; and the resumption and timely conclusion of the Collective Bargaining Agreement process.
NARD explained that the one-week notice before the planned resumption of the strike was intended to allow for congress meetings, media engagement, and statutory notifications to security agencies and hospital managements nationwide.
