Resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have returned to duty following a nationwide strike that lasted for one month.

The strike, which began on November 1, was called by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) over unmet demands, including a 200% increase in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), full implementation of new allowances proposed since July 2022, recruitment of clinical staff, and the removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks delaying the replacement of exiting doctors.

Speaking on behalf of NARD, Dr. Gboyega Ajibola, President of UCH NARD, said the National Executive Council (NEC) met on November 29 to reassess the situation. He noted that the government had addressed most of the association’s immediate and short-term demands, leading to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) detailing the execution of each demand.

“Based on the satisfactory terms of the MoU, the NARD NEC decided to suspend the industrial action and give the government four weeks to implement the agreed measures,” Ajibola said.

Following the suspension, all NARD centres held congresses on December 1 to brief members on developments. After the briefings, centre presidents instructed members to resume duty, which they have done as of Monday.