FCT Resident Doctors begin 7-day warning strike over welfare, manpower shortage

The Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Capital Territory (ARD-FCT), has embarked on a seven-day warning strike to press home its demands over poor welfare and staffing challenges in FCT hospitals.

Announcing the industrial action in Abuja, ARD-FCT President, Dr. George Ebong, said the decision followed resolutions reached at the association’s emergency general meeting held on Friday, September 5.

According to him, the strike was prompted by the “nonchalant attitude” of the FCT Administration despite several rounds of dialogue on persistent and unresolved issues affecting resident doctors.

The issues raised by the association include lack of manpower, the psychological toll of long working hours — which it said recently contributed to the death of a doctor in Port Harcourt — unpaid salaries and unexplained deductions, and poor working conditions in emergency and consulting rooms.

Dr. Ebong noted that no fresh employment had been made in FCT hospitals since 2011, describing the situation as a long-standing systemic failure requiring urgent reform. He added that doctors in the FCT are under immense pressure, often covering multiple departments due to staff shortages.

He called on the Federal Government to urgently address the rising challenges in the health sector, warning that continued neglect could lead to systemic collapse.

The ARD-FCT President also urged the FCT Administration to declare a state of emergency in the 14 district and general hospitals across the territory, insisting that the seven-day warning strike would be uninterrupted.

Ebong warned that if, after the warning strike, the issues raised are not addressed, the association would proceed on an indefinite strike.