The Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics, NAMDA, has announced plans to embark on a three-day warning strike beginning Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
The strike is expected to affect medical schools across the country as the association protests what it described as the Federal Government’s failure to address the concerns and welfare of medical lecturers.
Acting National Secretary-General of NAMDA, Prof. Aniekan Peter, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Wednesday.
Peter said the decision followed resolutions reached at the association’s National Emergency Council meeting.
According to him, the industrial action became necessary because of the government’s continued failure to respond to issues affecting medical and dental academics despite repeated appeals.
He expressed concern over the worsening shortage of medical lecturers in the country, as well as the increasing migration of medical professionals abroad, popularly known as the “Japa syndrome.”
Peter said the situation was putting additional pressure on the few academics remaining in the country while threatening the quality and sustainability of medical education.
The association faulted what it described as the Federal Government’s plan to increase the number of medical doctors produced by Nigerian universities without simultaneously addressing the welfare and working conditions of the lecturers responsible for training them.
NAMDA described the government’s approach as contradictory, arguing that efforts to expand the country’s medical workforce would be difficult to sustain if the lecturers responsible for training future doctors continued to leave the country or abandon academic practice due to poor conditions.
The association warned that the continued neglect of medical academics could further worsen the shortage of qualified lecturers and undermine the quality of medical education and training in Nigeria.
The three-day warning strike is expected to run from Tuesday, September 1, to Thursday, September 3, 2026.
NAMDA urged the Federal Government to urgently engage the association and address the issues raised before the situation escalates into a prolonged industrial dispute.