Akwa Ibom Doctors Threaten Strike Over Welfare Issues at UNIUYO

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Akwa Ibom State chapter, has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the management of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO), demanding the resolution of several welfare issues or face an indefinite strike.

The decision to issue the strike notice came after a series of unsuccessful efforts to reach an agreement with the university’s management regarding the welfare of medical staff. The NMA chairman, Dr. Aniekan Peter, expressed frustration over what he described as the management’s “insensitive” attitude towards health services and the welfare of medical practitioners at the university.

In a communique released after the association’s emergency meeting in Uyo, the NMA highlighted several key issues, including the failure to migrate medical lecturers to the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) as approved by the University of Uyo Governing Council. According to the association, medical lecturers have been left out of the migration, and arrears dating back to 2016 have not been paid, unlike other universities that had completed the migration process.

The communique further cited inadequate staffing at the university’s Health Centre, which has led to increased workloads for the existing medical staff. The NMA also raised concerns over delays in the promotion of medical lecturers and the withholding of three and a half months’ salary during the 2022 Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, with no resolution in sight despite payments being made to other medical schools.

Among the demands of the NMA are:

• Immediate migration of all medical lecturers to CONMESS with the payment of arrears.
• Recruitment of additional medical lecturers for medical programs and doctors for the University Health Centre.
• Promotion of eligible medical lecturers without further delay and the payment of promotion arrears.
• Payment of the outstanding three and a half months’ salary owed to medical lecturers.

The NMA has set a 21-day deadline for the university’s management to address these issues. Failure to meet these demands will result in an indefinite strike.

The NMA has expressed willingness to engage with the university management at any convenient time within the 21-day period, which began on April 2, 2025, to resolve these concerns amicably.