The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has turned down the Federal Government’s proposal of a 25 per cent increase in doctors’ basic salary and a quarterly N25,000 accouterment allowance. This rejection comes amid their ongoing nationwide indefinite strike, as they claim that the government has not met their demands.
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According to Dr. Emeka Orji, the President of NARD, the association firmly refuses the proposed 25 per cent salary increment and accouterment allowance, insisting on the full restoration of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to its 2009 value when it was initially approved.
Resident doctors Demand
The current salary structure, implemented in 2014, has lost its value due to inflation, exchange rate fluctuations, and fuel price hikes. Hence, the resident doctors are requesting a return to the 2014 salary value, which they calculate to be more than a 600 per cent increase when accounting for the removal of fuel subsidy.
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In addition to salary concerns, Resident doctors also demands the immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), the replacement of departed doctors and nurses with new ones, payment of salary arrears, improved hazard allowance by state governments, and a reversal of the downgrading of membership certificates by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
Furthermore, NARD is opposing the casualization of doctors in all tertiary health institutions in Nigeria and urging the government to enhance security measures to prevent incidents like the recent abduction of Prof. Ekanem Philip-Ephraim of UCTH Calabar, one of its trainers.
