Resident doctors at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) have declared full support for the planned resumption of the nationwide strike by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), scheduled to commence on Monday, January 12, 2026.

The endorsement was confirmed on Friday by the President of the LASUTH Association of Resident Doctors (LASUTH-ARD), Dr. Akerele Alaba, who said members of the association would comply with the directive of the national body to resume the Total Indefinite and Comprehensive Strike (TICS 2.0), tagged “No Implementation, No Going Back.”

Dr. Akerele recalled that NARD had embarked on a nationwide strike on November 1, 2025, but suspended the action on November 29, 2025, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Government on November 27. The agreement, he said, contained 19 demands that were expected to be implemented within one month.

However, he lamented that the Federal Government had failed to honour the terms of the agreement, noting that several items were either completely neglected, altered, or only partially implemented.

The decision to resume the strike, according to him, followed resolutions reached at NARD’s Extraordinary National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held virtually on January 2, 2026.

Dr. Akerele stated that the NEC would only consider suspending TICS 2.0 upon the full implementation of key demands, including the reinstatement of the FTH Lokoja Five, payment of promotion and salary arrears, full implementation of the professional allowance table with arrears captured in the 2026 budget, reintroduction of the specialist allowance, resolution of salary delays for house officers, and the resumption of the Collective Bargaining Agreement process.

Beyond national issues, he highlighted several unresolved local welfare concerns affecting resident doctors in Lagos State. These include the abandonment of the resident doctors’ quarters project, unpaid advancement arrears, exclusion from housing and pension schemes, non-payment of teaching allowances to registrars and house officers, and the unpaid December 2025 bonus.

While calling on the Lagos State Government to ensure the timely payment of the 2026 medical residency training fund, Dr. Akerele commended the state government for its consistency in paying the fund annually.

He appealed to the state government to urgently address the outstanding issues, stressing that the decision to resume the strike, though difficult, was taken in the collective interest of doctors’ welfare, dignity, and the sustainability of healthcare delivery across the country.

Dr. Akerele added that resident doctors at LASUTH were currently rendering full services but would comply fully with the strike directive once it takes effect on Monday.