Kaduna resident doctors suspend six-day warning strike

The Kaduna chapter of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), based at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, has announced the suspension of its six-day warning strike.

Dr. Josiah Yakubu, President of the chapter, confirmed the development on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He said the decision was made following an emergency congress held on Saturday, alongside several meetings and interventions—especially from the national and state branches of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA).

According to Yakubu, normal work is scheduled to resume on Tuesday, with doctors in the hospital expected to report by 8:00 a.m., while other resident doctors will resume duties by 10:00 a.m.

He noted that the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) had intervened on behalf of the state government since the strike began. This led to a follow-up meeting involving the leadership of the NMA, which was held at the request of the SSG.

“This was unlike our first meeting where unfortunately some of our members were issued with letters of termination of appointment as resident doctors.

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Some others were given warning letters, with a notice of intention to terminate their appointments.

We have come to understand that the action was unilaterally taken by the management of Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital,” he said.

Yakubu explained that the recent dialogue between the medical association and state representatives, which lasted about two hours, allowed both parties to better understand the concerns raised.

“They highlighted the possible solutions towards reaching an amicable resolution of the industrial disharmony.

“This was in such a manner that the doctors are not shortchanged and that healthcare service delivery in the state is not compromised,” he said.

He further stated that the state government acknowledged the validity of the doctors’ concerns and had pledged to resolve the issues.

“The secretary to the state government appealed for a two-month duration to enable the government to practically initiate and resolve these concerns of manpower and remuneration of doctors in the state as demanded,” Yakubu added.

He also revealed that a cost analysis for the proposed transition from CONMESS 2014 to CONMESS 2024 had already been drafted and forwarded to the SSG for presentation to the Governor.

“A Memorandum of Understanding was jointly drafted to this effect, which the SSG, Chairman, NMA Kaduna State, NARD President, President, ARD Kaduna, and President, ARD BDTH co-signed.

The meeting ended with an expectation of these developments to be communicated to the congress of ARD Kaduna and ARD BDTH for appraisal,” Yakubu explained.

He assured that both NMA and NARD leadership had committed to closely monitoring the process to ensure full implementation of the agreed terms.