The Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Capital Territory Administration (ARD-FCTA), has threatened to take decisive action over the government’s failure to implement approvals earlier granted by FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The association’s president, Dr. George Ebong, confirmed this in an interview on Monday, expressing frustration that none of the minister’s approved commitments had been executed weeks after his public assurance.
ARD-FCTA had suspended its indefinite strike on September 19, 2025, following the intervention of the Senate Committee on Federal Territory Area Councils and Ancillary Matters, which pledged to mediate between the doctors and the FCT Administration.
During the flag-off of the Northern Parkway construction in September, Wike announced that he had approved all the doctors’ requests, stating, “I have signed all the doctors’ requests on my table today.”
However, four weeks later, ARD-FCTA said the FCT Administration has yet to implement any of the approved measures, despite the intervention of both the minister and the Senate Committee.
“Our demands are yet to be met,” Dr. Ebong told reporters , hinting that another round of industrial action could be imminent if the issues remain unresolved.
The association noted that 28 doctors were still owed salary arrears, while the Medical Residency Training Fund and other entitlements remain unpaid.
According to ARD-FCTA, the unresolved issues include three categories of demands:
- Immediate Demands: Payment of salary arrears to 28 doctors, disbursement of the Medical Residency Training Fund, and full settlement of accoutrement allowances.
- Intermediate Demands: Promotion and implementation of salary “skipping,” conversion of post–Part II Fellows, payment of new residents’ entitlements, and correction of erroneous salary deductions.
- Long-Term Demands: Recruitment and renovation plans for FCTA hospitals, payment of hazard allowances, implementation of the 25%/35% CONMESS upward review, payment of wage awards, and inclusion of hazard allowance funding in the next supplementary budget.
The doctors said they will convene a meeting in the coming days to decide on the next line of action, warning that continued inaction could lead to another shutdown of public hospitals in Abuja.
Many residents of the Federal Capital Territory depend on public hospitals, raising concerns about the possible impact of another strike on healthcare services in the nation’s capital.
