Nigeria: Looming Strike - FG Assures On Payment of 7 Months Arrears of Doctors, Health Workers

11 August 2025
Vanguard (Lagos)
By Chioma Obinna & Joseph Erunke

...NMA threatens indefinite strike over 'wicked, illegal' salary deductions in Lagos

Abuja-As part of measures to avert an impending strike in the health sector, the federal government has assured medical doctors and other healthcare workers that their seven months salary arrears would be paid before the end of August 2025.

However, Lagos State branch of Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, yesterday warned that doctors in the state's employ might embark on an indefinite strike over what it described as "wicked, insensitive, and illegal" deductions from their July 2025 salaries by the State Treasury Office, STO.

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, made the pledge during a joint meeting with leaders of major health unions in Abuja weekend.

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The development comes after the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, recently issued a 21-day ultimatum to the government to address outstanding welfare concerns or face a nationwide strike.

Similarly, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, NANNM, had earlier embarked on a warning strike, which was suspended following stakeholders' interventions.

To forestall further disruption in the sector, the ministry of health convened a roundtable meeting with the NMA, NANNM, and the Joint Health Sector Union, JOHESU, alongside the minister of humanitarian affairs, to negotiate and resolve pending issues.

Speaking after the meeting, Prof. Pate reaffirmed the government's resolve to pay the seven-month backlog and reiterated President Bola Tinubu's commitment to finding lasting solutions to challenges in the nation's healthcare delivery system.

In separate interviews, NMA President, Prof. Bala Audu, and JOHESU National President, Comrade Kabiru Minjibir, expressed optimism that the agreements reached could prevent the looming strike if fully implemented.

The stakeholders hoped the federal government will honour its commitments to ensure sustained industrial harmony and uninterrupted healthcare services nationwide.

Read the original article on Vanguard.

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