The Association of Resident Doctors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has embarked on a seven-day warning strike over what it described as systemic failures crippling the territory’s health sector.
The strike, which commenced on Monday, was announced in a communiqué signed by the association’s president, Dr. George Ebong, and other executive members.
The doctors decried long-standing structural deficiencies in the FCT health system, stressing the urgent need for comprehensive reforms.
Ebong said resident doctors were under immense strain, often compelled to manage multiple departments simultaneously. He warned that continued neglect could trigger “a systemic collapse” of the healthcare system.
The association listed its demands to include addressing manpower shortages, fixing non-functional equipment, payment of outstanding allowances, and improvement of poor working conditions. It also raised concerns over unpaid salaries, delayed promotions, and underpayment of promoted staff, insisting that staff morale and efficiency depended on immediate reforms.
Ebong further emphasised that frontline health workers must be actively involved in decision-making processes affecting the sector.
To press home its demands, the association issued the FCT administration a one-week ultimatum to initiate meaningful reforms in staffing and welfare or face a full strike action.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Salako, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, expressed optimism that ongoing discussions with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) would avert the industrial action.
“The National Association of Resident Doctors has issued an ultimatum, but I believe with the level of conversation ongoing, we are making progress. We had a meeting on Monday,” Salako said.
He explained that the main issue was the unpaid residency training allowance, noting that about 40 per cent of the 2025 allocation had yet to be disbursed.
When asked if the government could guarantee a resolution before the ultimatum expired, the minister responded: “That is my hope, and that is what we are working on.”
