Court order will not halt January 12 strike, says NARD President

The Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors has said it will go ahead with its planned nationwide strike scheduled for January 12, 2026, unless its National Executive Council decides to change the plan.

The President of the association, Dr Mohammad Suleiman, stated this on Friday while speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He explained that the position of the union remains unchanged for now, pending a formal decision by its top leadership.

This comes after Very Nigerian reported earlier that the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Abuja, restrained the association and two of its officials from embarking on any form of industrial action from January 12, 2026.

The court order followed an application filed against the doctors over the planned strike action.

Justice E. D. Subilim granted the interim injunction in a suit marked NICN/ABJ/06/2026, filed by the Federal Government and the Attorney-General of the Federation against NARD, Dr Mohammad Suleiman and Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim.

Speaking via telephone on the programme, Suleiman said members of the association were not shaken by the court order, alleging that the government had not acted in good faith despite NARD’s decision to suspend its earlier strike in November 2025.

“We signed the MoU on the 27th of November. The strike was supposed to start on the 27th of December. NEC carried it over, and at the beginning of this year, we met again and gave more days.

“Then, at the close of work today, I started hearing from social media that a court injunction has been served. I’m even hearing that ‘no work, no pay’ documents have been released.

“When we are discussing and negotiating, it should be done in good faith. Once you start bringing out armouries and arms like this, it means you don’t want to negotiate in good faith,” he said.

Asked if the association would go ahead with the strike despite the court order, Suleiman replied that it would proceed “unless the National Executive Council of the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors says otherwise.”

He added that the association was still engaging the Federal Government and expressed optimism that the impasse could be resolved over the weekend.

“We are in conversations. We are in discussions with the Federal Government’s team. I hope that between tonight and Sunday, a lot of things will be done properly,” he said.

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