Resident doctors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have begun a seven-day warning strike to protest years of neglect in the healthcare sector.
The action, which commenced on Monday, September 8, 2025, is scheduled to end on September 15 unless urgent interventions are made.
The Association of Resident Doctors in the FCT (ARD-FCT) says the strike was a painful but necessary step to demand safer working conditions, adequate manpower, and fair compensation.
In a communiqué signed by ARD-FCT president, Dr. George Ebong, the union decried the absence of new recruitment in FCTA-owned hospitals since 2011, despite Abuja’s rapidly growing population. Existing staff, he said, are “overstretched, exhausted, and vulnerable to mistakes that could cost lives.”
Dr. Ebong highlighted extreme cases, including a nurse bitten by a snake at Abaji General Hospital and the death of a doctor under unsafe conditions in Port Harcourt. He described the situation as “no longer sustainable.”
Doctors are also demanding payment of outstanding salary arrears, release of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund, and implementation of the promised 25–35% salary increase. They insist FCTA hospitals must be urgently renovated, re-equipped, and staffed with new recruits before the end of the year.
Looming Health Crisis in the Capital
ARD-FCT insists the strike is not to punish patients but to draw attention to systemic failures. “We are on strike because the system has pushed us to this point. Our demands are not new,” Dr. Ebong stressed.
The FCT administration and the Federal Ministry of Health have yet to issue a comprehensive response. However, stakeholders are urging immediate dialogue to prevent an escalation.
If the seven-day strike lapses without resolution, ARD-FCT has warned that it could declare an indefinite strike, which would shut down most public hospitals in Abuja and worsen the already critical health challenges facing residents.
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