Doctors strike leaves patients stranded in Abuja hospitals

A seven‑day warning strike by resident doctors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has severely disrupted healthcare services in public hospitals. The strike began on 8 September 2025 after the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD‑FCT) issued a 21‑day ultimatum that the FCT Administration failed to meet. The doctors are protesting unpaid salary arrears, poor welfare, and deteriorating conditions in Abuja hospitals, as well as non‑payment of accrued Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), the lack of new hazard allowances, and the failure to implement revised CONMESS salary structures.

Patients have been turned away, discharged prematurely, or told to return after the strike ends. At Nyanya General Hospital only a handful of patients were seen, with nurses attending to them in the absence of doctors. A similar scene unfolded at Asokoro District Hospital, where normally crowded wards and emergency units were nearly empty. The strike has crippled services at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, and the general hospitals in Kubwa, Asokoro, and Maitama. Emergency wards are overwhelmed and dozens of elective surgeries have been cancelled indefinitely. Residents have expressed frustration, describing the situation as a matter of life and death.

The doctors’ grievances also include delayed promotion exercises, continued salary deductions, and the failure to recruit new doctors despite severe manpower shortages. The absence of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who is abroad, has further complicated matters. Sources within the FCT Administration confirm that the minister alone can approve the financial commitments needed to resolve the doctors’ demands, and no other official can act in his stead. This administrative bottleneck has left the administration powerless, making it likely that the strike will run its full course and prolong patients’ suffering.

The FCT Administration has not commented on the crisis, and attempts to contact the permanent secretary of the FCT Health Service and Environment Secretariat have been unsuccessful. The strike underscores the urgent need for attention to the FCT’s healthcare sector, and resident doctors await a swift resolution to the crisis.