Resident doctors under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (ARD-FCTA) have embarked on an indefinite strike after the expiration of their seven-day warning strike.

The decision was announced in a communiqué released Monday morning, signed by ARD-FCTA President, Dr. George Ebong, and General Secretary, Dr. Agbor Affiong.

The association had earlier commenced a warning strike on September 8, 2025, over issues of unpaid salary arrears, poor welfare, and worsening conditions in FCT hospitals.

According to the communiqué, the doctors’ grievances include salary arrears ranging from one to six months for colleagues employed since 2023, non-payment of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), delayed promotions, and continued salary deductions.

They also decried the failure to recruit new medical officers despite acute manpower shortages, stressing that this has led to stress-related deaths among health workers and poses “grave, potentially catastrophic risks to both patients and doctors.”

Other issues raised include the non-payment of arrears from the 25–35 per cent CONMESS upward review, already implemented for federal health workers.

The doctors are demanding immediate payment of all outstanding arrears, urgent recruitment of doctors before the end of 2025, full release of the MRTF, timelines for skipping and conversion processes, and urgent renovation of FCTA hospitals.

They further called for a state of emergency to be declared in FCT hospitals, arguing that the nation’s capital should serve as a benchmark for healthcare delivery but has instead become “a shadow of what it ought to represent.”