Striking resident doctors in Nigeria have ended their seven-day industrial action in response to the abduction of their colleague, Ganiyat Popoola.
The strike, which began last Monday, faced strong opposition from the Federal Government, which threatened to enforce the ‘No work, no pay’ policy.
The government expressed disappointment over the union’s decision to strike, stating that despite being informed of the various steps it was taking to address the situation, the union still chose to down tools.
Despite this threat, the doctors maintained the strike until its scheduled conclusion.
However, the President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dele Abdullahi, stated that the association would reassess the Federal Government’s actions over the next three weeks to ensure that meaningful progress has been made.
He said: “We are suspending the strike now. We will be meeting to review the progress the government has made in the next three weeks.
“We are resuming on Monday, September 2, 2024, at 8 am. The engagement of the government has been a little bit better. But, we are hopeful that they will sustain this current line of action.”
The seven-day warning strike was prompted by what the union described as the government’s failure to secure the release of Ganiyat Popoola, a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna.
Popoola was abducted on December 27, 2023, along with her husband and nephew. While her husband was released in March, Popoola and her nephew remain in captivity.
