Just eight weeks after they called off their last strike in good faith, doctors at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital say they’ve had enough — and patients in Oyo State could be left stranded again.

It’s happening again at Ogbomoso.

The Association of Resident Doctors at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital (LTH), Ogbomoso, says it will resume its suspended industrial action on 28 August 2026 if the Oyo State Government and hospital management don’t sort out their welfare package.

In a statement signed on Thursday by President Dr Adedapo Mustapha and General Secretary Dr John Stephen, the ARD said they had deliberately suspended their last strike on 27 June and given authorities an eight-week window to act. As that deadline now ticks down, nothing has moved.

According to cbinews.tv, the doctors said the suspension was done “in good faith” to keep the peace and protect healthcare delivery for residents of Oyo State.

But look closer at what they’re asking for, and it’s hardly outrageous.

What do they actually want?

Four things:

1. Full implementation and release of the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF)

2. Implementation of the new Professional Allowance table

3. Payment of minimum wage arrears

4. Urgent recruitment of resident doctors and other critical manpower

And this is where context matters.

The MRTF is not a bonus — it’s the statutory annual fund meant to cover residents’ books, exams, research and clinical training. Across Nigeria it has been a flashpoint. The Federal Government only just released N10.6 billion for the 2025 MRTF nationwide in September 2025, and many state hospitals are still lagging behind on the 2026 disbursement, which is at the heart of the current national face-off with NARD.

Why LTH Ogbomoso is always in the news

If you have followed LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, this will sound familiar.

LTH Ogbomoso stands as the only Oyo State–owned tertiary health institution and a referral hub for facilities within and beyond the state. Yet it has a long history of industrial crises — from being owed 11 months’ salaries in 2016, to the controversial transfer of 55 resident doctors in 2017, to repeated warning strikes.

The manpower crisis today is stark. The hospital is currently operating with only 70 resident doctors, instead of the required 270 and 10 house officers, instead of 48. The ARD says it has lost more than 100 nurses, 20 consultants, and dozens of other clinical staff in recent months to japa and poor conditions.

Imagine that: fewer hands, endless calls, same number of emergencies. As the association itself put it, “prolonged and frequent call duties had increasingly become the norm for the few doctors available.”

They suspended their last indefinite strike after two months hoping things would change. They even temporarily called off action for two days to treat abducted schoolchildren. That goodwill, they say, has not been reciprocated.

“These demands are neither outrageous nor unreasonable,” the doctors insisted, adding that several of the welfare packages had been implemented in other healthcare institutions for years.

Their warning is blunt: this isn’t just about comfort. “The welfare of healthcare workers is intrinsically linked to patient safety, quality of care and the sustainability of healthcare services.”

The ARD is now appealing directly to Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene before the 28 August deadline, but its position is clear — if nothing happens, the wards will be empty again.

We’ll keep you posted on any response from the Oyo State Government and the LTH management.

Source: Original statement from ARD, LTH Ogbomoso, as reported by cbinews.tv

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