The Joint Health Sector Unions has suspended its 84-day nationwide strike following a conciliation meeting with the Federal Government on Thursday.
In a communique issued at the end of its expanded National Executive Council emergency hybrid meeting held on Friday in Abuja, JOHESU directed all its members nationwide to return to work effective from midnight on Friday, February 6, 2026.
The statement read in part, “After exhaustive deliberations and review of the terms of settlement of the conciliation meeting, the expanded NEC -in-Session voted unanimously to suspend the ongoing indefinite nationwide strike action to allow for the implementation of the FG-JOHESU Terms of Settlements.
“Consequently, NEC directs all JOHESU members nationwide to return to work effective from midnight today, 6th February, 2026.”
PUNCH Healthwise reports that the union embarked on a total and indefinite strike on November 15, 2025, due to the government’s failure to implement the adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS, in line with the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS, for doctors, which has been reviewed several times since 2014, among other outstanding demands at the sub-national levels.
The strike crippled services and patient care in public hospitals nationwide.
The communique, signed by the National Chairman, Kabiru Minjibir, and the National Secretary, Martin Egbanubi, stated that the NEC observed with deep concern the implication of the unprecedented strike, which was in its 84th day at the moment, and the indecisive posture of the Federal Government leading to maternal and infant mortality, morbidity, and outright fatalities which ravaged the health system in the last three months or thereabout.
It added that the Federal Government, according to a reliable source, also lost an avoidable internally generated revenue of almost N1tn only during the strike.
The union noted that the strike attracted two review sessions with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, presided over by the ministers in charge on different occasions.
It stated that these two sessions, which took place on January 15, 2026, and January 22, 2026, respectively, were aimed at settling the trade dispute.
JOHESU added that the meeting on January 22, 2026, ended with the union presenting a proposal based on the expanded NEC mandate and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare presenting a counterproposal.
It noted that the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment had earlier convened conciliation meetings since the commencement of the strike, which were not too successful.
The union stated that the third meeting was the emergency conciliation meeting convened on February 5, 2026, arising from the 14-day ultimatum issued by the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress to the FG on the implementation of the adjustment of CONHESS.
It added that the emergency meeting had in attendance from the Federal Government side, the ministers of Labour and Employment, Finance, Health and State for Health, including National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission representatives and from the Trade Union side, the national leadership of the TUC, NLC and JOHESU.
The union stated that, at the seemingly exhaustive and stormy deliberations, some resolutions and terms of settlement were agreed on.
According to JOHESU, the ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiation shall be structured to appraise all identified defects, gaps and implementation failures, especially between 2009 and 2026.
It added that outstanding issues connected to the implementation of the adjustment of CONHESS shall kick start the CBA under the exclusive auspices of JOHESU members without any delay.
The union stated that budgetary allocation to take care of the implementation of the adjustment of CONHESS must form a cardinal part and projection of the 2026 Appropriation Act, based on the existing template provided by the Technical Committee report of the high-level body of the Federal government set up by the Federal Ministry of Health in 2021.
It added that there would be an immediate withdrawal of the “No Work, No Pay” directive issued in relation to the JOHESU strike, noting that, sequel to the above, the January 2026 salaries of JOHESU members must be paid immediately.
JOHESU stated that no member of JOHESU/AHPA who participated in the current strike shall be victimised, sanctioned or intimidated on the basis of their involvement in the strike.
It added, “Fundamentally and strategically, we put on very good record that failure to fully actualise these terms of settlement leaves the TUC and NLC with no other choice than to apply all lawful industrial relations methodologies to sort all outstanding issues of JOHESU members with the Federal Government.”
The union noted that after exhaustive deliberations and review of the terms of settlement of the conciliation meeting, the expanded NEC in session voted unanimously to suspend the ongoing indefinite nationwide strike action to allow for the implementation of the FG-JOHESU terms of settlement.
In its conclusion, JOHESU conveyed very special gratitude to prominent Nigerians and institutions that intervened to halt the strike in the national interest.
The union listed them to include Senator Godswill Akpabio, President of the Senate; Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abass, Speaker, House of Representatives; Chairman Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ipalibo Banigo; Chairman House Committee on Health Institutions, Hon. Amos Magaji; the Chairman and members of the Committee of CMDs/MDs; the leadership of various professional bodies and notable traditional rulers around the country, most especially the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Enitan, Ojaja 2.
JOHESU also thanked the national leadership of the NLC and TUC for their intervention, support and solidarity throughout the period of the nationwide strike.
The union appreciated the masses for their understanding throughout the period of the industrial action, adding that a recurring infliction of injustice and a huge trust deficit necessitated the unfortunate and avoidable JOHESU nationwide strike.
It stated, “We hope that the Federal Government, as well as other state governments, show both sensitivity and responsibility in ensuring Nigerians avoid this depth of suffering in the foreseeable future.”
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