Key points
- The LASUTH Association of Resident Doctors declared an indefinite strike from 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, after an emergency virtual congress on Sept. 9.
- Core demands include specialist allowance for Grade Level 14 doctors, salary and advancement arrears, and 25 months of revised Professional Allowance Table arrears.
- The doctors acknowledged interventions from Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and senior officials but said unresolved welfare issues left them no option.
Resident doctors at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital have begun an indefinite strike over unpaid specialist allowances, salary and advancement arrears, and 25 months of backlog on the revised Professional Allowance Table.
The Association of Resident Doctors, LASUTH, declared the action to begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, after accusing the Lagos State Government of failing to resolve long-standing welfare issues.
The decision came in a communiqué from the association’s emergency congress, held virtually on Sept. 9, and signed by its president, Alaba Gabriel Akerele, and general secretary, Hamzat Omotoyosi Bakre.
The doctors did acknowledge some progress. Specifically, they thanked the state for paying the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund and for implementing the revised professional allowance table. However, they said several critical issues remain unresolved.
What the doctors are demanding
Chief among the grievances is the non-payment of specialist allowance to Grade Level 14 resident doctors, particularly Senior Registrars 1.
According to the association, the government had previously agreed to align that payment with the Federal Government’s implementation for doctors in federal institutions, yet it has not followed through.
In addition, the doctors accused the state of failing to pay salary and advancement arrears owed to some members since last year, even though officials acknowledged the debts and blamed the delay on “procedural and systemic” issues.
The association also alleged irregularities and discrepancies in how the revised allowance has been paid.
Furthermore, the doctors faulted the slow rollout of the revised Professional Allowance Table, which they say took effect on July 1, 2024.
Consequently, the congress demanded immediate implementation of the specialist allowance, payment of all outstanding salary and advancement arrears, and settlement of 25 months of allowance arrears. They also want a detailed breakdown of every salary component the state uses to pay them.
Officials acknowledged, but no deal
The association credited interventions from Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Gov. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, First Lady Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Head of Service Bode Agoro, Accountant-General Muyiwa John Adetola, Commissioner for Health Akin Abayomi and Commissioner for Establishments and Training Afolabi Ayantola.
Similarly, it thanked the permanent secretaries of the health and establishments ministries, LASUTH Chief Medical Director Adetokunbo Fabamwo, hospital officials, the Medical Guild, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors and past leaders of the LASUTH chapter.
Even so, the doctors said those efforts had not resolved the core welfare issues, leaving members with no option but to withdraw their services. The strike, they warned, will continue indefinitely until the government meets its commitments.
As a result, services at LASUTH, one of the state’s largest tertiary hospitals, are likely to face growing strain the longer the dispute drags on.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has backed the strike and called for urgent intervention from the governor.
