OOUTH Doctors Suspend Strike After Ogun Government Promises Allowance Payment

(OOUTH. Photo by Vanguard News)

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, Ogun State, has called off its 10-day warning strike after the Ogun State government committed to paying members’ professional allowances on or before July 31, 2026.

The decision to suspend the industrial action was reached at an emergency congress of the association held on Wednesday at the ARD Lounge within the hospital.

ARD president Dr John Omotoso announced the development in a statement issued to journalists on Thursday, saying the resolution followed productive engagements with senior government officials and the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Ogun State.

The commitment was given during a meeting attended by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tokunbo Talabi, and the Head of Service, Mr Olanrewaju Iskeel Saka, in the presence of Ogun State NMA leadership.

Following a review of the association’s demands and the progress recorded, members voted to suspend the strike and were directed to resume work by 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2026.

Omotoso announced that an Emergency General Meeting would be convened on August 1, 2026, to assess the government’s compliance with its commitments and determine the association’s next steps.

He also cautioned against any victimisation, intimidation, or harassment of members arising from their participation in the strike, urging those who experience such treatment to report it to the association’s leadership promptly.

The ARD commended the intervention of the Ogun State government under Governor Dapo Abiodun, noting that the resolution would help avert disruption to healthcare services and residency training at the hospital.

The doctors had commenced the warning strike on Tuesday over a range of unresolved welfare and operational grievances, including the non-payment of revised professional and specialist allowances, delayed release of the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), acute manpower shortages leading to excessive workload and burnout, recurring security breaches within the hospital, poor conditions in call rooms, inadequate accommodation, and insufficient provision of call meals.

They had maintained that despite the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum previously issued to the government, no Memorandum of Understanding had been signed and no concrete commitment had been made prior to the strike.