Nigerian doctors call off protests after government agrees to wage hike demands

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA): Doctors in Nigeria called off nationwide public protests scheduled for Wednesday after the government agreed to their demands for pay raises and better working conditions.

National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) President Emeka Orji told the media over the phone that the protests were called off after the government agreed to their “immediate demands” at a meeting in the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

“We decided to suspend the public protests originally scheduled for Wednesday after the government agreed to our immediate demands,” Orji said.

During the meeting, Senate President Godwill Akpabio and top officials asked the doctors to be patient and understand the government’s constraints in dealing with economic issues and other healthcare-related affairs, the NARD president said.

On July 26, doctors began an indefinite strike in hospitals to put pressure on the government to accept their demands, which includes immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund, concrete steps toward the “upward review” of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, and payment of all salary arrears since 2015.

“Many of our doctors have left the country in search of better opportunities and better lives, leaving public-sector hospitals with staff shortages,” Orji said.

“As a result, existing doctors are under increased strain, and according to our estimates, one doctor in a Nigerian hospital is responsible for approximately 1,000 patients. And it is, indeed, a bad situation,” he lamented.