The President of NARD, Emeka Orji, disclosed this to PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday night.

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has directed its members to embark on an indefinite strike beginning Wednesday, 26 July.

The President of NARD, Emeka Orji, disclosed this to PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday night.

This development is coming less than 48 hours after the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, pleaded with the doctors for understanding and pledged the new administration's commitment to addressing their concerns.

NEC's decision

The ARD President said the decision to commence the indefinite strike was taken during the association's July National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos.

He said further details would be communicated soon.

"We just finished our emergency meeting and the NEC has directed that we proceed on total indefinite strike action from 12 midnight, tomorrow Wednesday," he said

Familiar terrain

The doctors had on 17 May embarked on a five-day warning strike following the failure of the Nigerian government to meet its demands.

The association had in January issued an ultimatum to the government to resolve issues affecting its members, including the immediate implementation and payment of the new hazard allowance and arrears.

The doctors, however, commenced the strike due to the government's reported failure to meet their demands.

The union suspended the strike after signing an MoU with the federal government, an agreement it also failed to meet.

This led the association to issue a two-week ultimatum to the government on 5 July to commence the implementation of all pending agreements or face industrial disharmony.

The association said the two-week ultimatum, which ended on 19 July, was to give the government adequate time to begin implementation of the resolutions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) previously agreed on.

It stated that should the government fail to meet its demands by then; its members may embark on a nationwide strike.