•Tinubu and doctors
The Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to wade into the nation’s ailing healthcare system and save it from imminent collapse.
In an open letter titled, “A Passionate Appeal to the Commander-in-Chief of the Federation,” dated October 27, 2025, and signed by NARD President, Dr. Mohammad Usman Suleiman, the group described the situation as both a national emergency and a matter of national security.
The association said it was forced to reach out directly to the president after discovering that some individuals within government had misinformed him that all outstanding issues with resident doctors had been resolved, reports Vanguard.
NARD maintained that such claims were not accurate, insisting that thousands of doctors across the country still work under extremely harsh conditions without adequate pay, modern facilities, or safety provisions.
The letter reads in part: “We write to you today with deep concern and a profound sense of duty to draw your urgent attention to the worsening state of Nigeria’s health sector. Our healthcare system, Sir, is on the verge of collapse, a situation that has now assumed the dimensions of a national emergency and a matter of national security.
“Your Excellency, we are aware that some individuals around you may have assured you that the challenges facing resident doctors have been resolved. Respectfully, Sir, that information is not accurate. Our realities in the hospitals across Nigeria tell a different story.
“Many of our members are yet to receive their legitimate entitlements, despite several signed agreements and repeated assurances from government representatives.
“We are not politicians. We are doctors, men and women devoted to saving lives, working long hours in often harsh and under-resourced conditions.
“Our appeal is simple and sincere: we seek not luxuries, but the basic salaries, allowances, and welfare packages that have already been approved and promised by the government.
“Sadly, while many in privileged positions continue to receive their full emoluments without delay, the frontline doctors who shoulder the burden of patient care are left struggling. This inequity is demoralizing and threatens the very foundation of our healthcare delivery system.
“Mr. President, you have always been known for your compassion, fairness, and courage in addressing difficult national challenges. We therefore appeal to your fatherly leadership to personally intervene and resolve the long-standing 19-point demands of the Nigerian Resident Doctors in order to restore hope, trust, and stability to our health sector.
“We believe that under your decisive leadership, Nigeria’s health system can once again stand strong to serve our people with dignity and save countless lives,” the letter stated.
At the heart of the doctors’ appeal is a call for the payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund to every eligible doctor which is a fund meant to support their specialist training and professional development.
NARD is also demanding the immediate release of long-overdue salary arrears, dating as far back as 2014, full implementation of the new hazard allowance and upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), which they say no longer reflects the economic realities or the value of their service.
Other demands include the payment of skipped arrears and consequential salary adjustments that have lingered unresolved, the replacement of doctors who have exited the system, the universal domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act across all states, and the release of withheld salaries of their colleagues.
