01/07/2026
PRESS STATEMENT BY THE ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENT
DOCTORS, BENUE STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL
(ARD BSUTH), ON THE ASSOCIATION’S WELFARE ISSUES AND
DEMANDS
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the press.
The Association of Resident Doctors, Benue State University Teaching
Hospital, (ARD BSUTH), wishes to issue the following press statement with
respect to its accumulated welfare issues and demands:
1. The general public will recall that ARD BSUTH came into the year
2026 while being on a strike which began on November 1, 2025.
After series of negotiations, the strike was suspended. The suspension
of the association’s strike on February 9, 2026 was predicated on a
Memorandum of Understanding which it entered into with the Benue
State Government.
2. At the time of this briefing, nearly all the major items in that MOU
have remained the same way they were before the strike of December
2025, except the 18 months’ arrears of CONMESS 2023 which have
been offset by the Benue State Government.
3. The association hereby, once more, appreciates the administration of
His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Dr. Hycinth Alia, for the payment of the
arrears of CONMESS 2023. ARD BSUTH, however, regrets the lack
of progress recorded on the remaining demands.
4. For the avoidance of doubt, the following major issues remain
outstanding in the MOU:
a. Non-remittance of pension funds despite ongoing deductions. The vast majority of our members have not been receiving the pension deductions made from their monthly salaries under the contributory pension scheme. At the time of this press release, some have accumulated pension arrears of more than three years. We hereby demand to know the whereabouts of those funds being deducted every month from our members. Since these monies are being deducted but not remitted, where do they go and why can they not be remitted to our members’ pension accounts?
b. Excess taxation. It has come to our knowledge that since November 2025, a new tax regime was implemented in the Benue State University Teaching Hospital. Under the new regime, the PAYE tax deduction from our members doubled and even went higher in some cases. The association has compared the taxation of our members to other medical employees of Benue State Government and discovered glaring disparities which show that nowhere else in Benue State is anyone paying the amount of tax being taken from our members. Despite engaging the BSUTH management and other relevant agencies, this disparity has neither been explained nor corrected. We hereby demand the immediate cessation of this excessive taxation and comprehensive refund of the erroneous deductions.
c. Upward review of the entry level into residency to CONMESS 3/6. This is an appeal which our association has been making as one way to attract doctors to take up employment in BSUTH.
We continue to emphasize that in the face of acute doctor-shortage in the country and better
welfare packages by the federal and some state governments, the Benue State Government
needs to put in place incentives to enable it attract and retain doctors in its service.
d. Renovation of doctors’ quarters. The provision of accommodation for resident doctors within the hospital premises is a requirement for running the residency programme. The doctors’ quarters in BSUTH has been in a state of disrepair, and we have been requesting for a comprehensive renovation since last year but this is yet to happen. We hereby repeat our appeal for its renovation.
5. While we continue to push for the resolution of the issues in that MOU, we would like to notify the general public that new circulars have been issued by the federal government on the welfare of doctors and these have already been implemented by the federal and some state governments. The circulars have approved upward review of teaching allowance, call duty allowance and basic salary for medical doctors in the federation with effect from July 2024. Also, the federal government has resumed payment of specialist allowance to senior registrars on CONMESS 5. These developments have been duly communicated to the Benue State Government since January 2026.
6. Again, there is the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) which is a yearly payment to resident doctors to defray some of their postgraduate training expenses. Despite this already being a policy of the federal government duly domesticated in Benue State, it has always taken two strikes each year to secure its payment. This year 2026, the MRTF is yet to be paid, apparently because we have not gone on any strike yet. Meanwhile, postgraduate exams have already held twice this year which our members were supposed to have funded with the MRTF. The same is the situation with the 2026 step increment which should have happened in January 2026 but which has not yet been implemented, probably waiting for another strike or threat of strike.
7. Now, why do these issues matter and why should the Benue State Government and average Benue people be concerned? This is why. There is a gross shortage of medical doctors in Nigeria at the moment due to the epidemic of doctors leaving the country. In the last week or so, it was reported in the news
that the United Kingdom employed over 200 medical doctors of Nigerian origin and training! These 200 are our former colleagues who got fed up with the constant struggle for improved welfare in Nigeria and jumped ship. As we talk to you, more are on their way out. By the way, that figure is from the UK alone in one year. How many did the United States and Canada take. How many are other countries – even
fellow African countries – taking every day?
8. Apart from the exit from the country, many of our colleagues have left BSUTH to take up employment in federal hospitals because of the ever increasing difference between the federal pay and ours. For instance, for any two entry level resident doctors employed at the same level in BSUTH and a federal hospital at the moment, the one in the federal hospital is earning at least One Hundred Thousand Naira
higher than his counterpart in BSUTH. The difference is even much higher for resident doctors on higher grade levels. BSUTH is not only losing doctors but also finding it difficult to get new ones to employ because of these issues.
9. And what is the result? The remaining doctors are overstretched and demoralized for working harder to earn poorer wages than their counterparts. Patients’ waiting time has greatly increased and this continues to affect the quality of care given to our patients. This is why the present state of things cannot continue
to go on unattended.
10. Perhaps more fundamentally disturbing is the fact that our experience in BSUTH shows that nothing ever happens towards resolving any welfare issue affecting us without our first going on strike. This atmosphere of unending fights, even for things that are mere administrative routines elsewhere, is greatly
distressing and lethally demoralizing. Our members have lost excitement for their jobs because while we steadfastly go about attending to our people, it seems that other players in the social contract neglect attending to us until we protest by withdrawing our services.
11. We want to, therefore, use this medium to appeal to the Benue State Government and all lovers of our people to rise to the occasion to salvage the situation in BSUTH while it can still be salvaged. Let them not be tired of hearing our voices in this struggle. The day is coming – God forbid it – that if these issues are not resolved, our voices will cease to echo from BSUTH, not because of peace but because we who are the last men standing today would have finally abandoned the institution for other places.
12. In conclusion, we wish to reiterate the sincere commitment of our members to the survival and prosperity of BSUTH. We also wish to reassure our patients and other stakeholders in the BSUTH project of our ever willingness to play our part to ensure the institution continues to serve the masses of our people.
We are hopeful that this disposition of ours will be reciprocated by all concerned, sooner than later.
Dr Kawen Pededoo T.- President
Dr Msonter Anzaa-General Secretary.
Dr Gandepuun Alu-Public Relations
