By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
Resident doctors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have begun a one-week warning strike over what they describe as years of neglect in the health sector.
The strike, declared by the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD-FCT), took effect on Monday following resolutions reached at an emergency general meeting held last Friday.
Announcing the decision, ARD-FCT President, Dr. George Ebong, said repeated appeals and meetings with the FCT Administration yielded no results, leaving doctors with no choice but to withdraw their services temporarily.
He listed the challenges facing health workers in the FCT as: Acute manpower shortage in hospitals, with no new recruitment since 2011. Unpaid salaries and unexplained deductions.Poor and unsafe working conditions, citing the case of a nurse killed by a snake bite at Abaji General Hospital. Dilapidated infrastructure in emergency and consulting rooms. Overwork and stress, which he linked to the recent death of a young doctor in Port Harcourt.
Ebong said doctors are overstretched, often covering multiple departments, and warned that unless urgent reforms are carried out, the FCT health system risks total collapse.
He called on FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to declare a state of emergency across the 14 district and general hospitals in the territory.
“The seven-day warning strike will be uninterrupted,” he said, warning that an indefinite strike could follow if nothing is done.
Reacting, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Isaq Salako, admitted that delays in paying residency training allowances remain a major concern, with about 40 percent of the 2025 allocation still outstanding.
He, however, expressed optimism that ongoing talks with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) would yield solutions before the situation escalates nationwide.
Meanwhile, patients in Abuja have been left worried, as emergency and routine services are already being disrupted in several hospitals.