Nigerian medical and dental students risk losing academic time as the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) has issued a 21 day strike ultimatum to the Federal Government over unresolved salary and welfare demands, warning that industrial action would shut down medical schools across the country if negotiations fail.

The NAMDA President, Dr Nosa Orhue, announced the ultimatum on Tuesday in Abuja following the association's National Executive Council meeting held on July 6, 2026, stating that the Federal Government had stalled negotiations since April 9, 2026, despite repeated engagement by the union.

Orhue said the Federal Government had within the same period concluded and signed agreements with other university based unions while excluding NAMDA, a development he described as a deliberate neglect that had damaged the morale of medical academics and accelerated brain drain.

"NEC resolved to issue a 21 day ultimatum to the Federal Government to conclude negotiations with NAMDA and address the Association's demands, after which industrial harmony will no longer be guaranteed," he stated.

The association demanded that the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure remain the sole payment framework for medical and dental academics, citing a Federal Executive Council approval from 1990 as the binding basis for their remuneration. Orhue warned that any attempt to replace the structure with another would trigger immediate industrial action.

NAMDA also rejected the National Universities Commission's directive requiring medical academics to obtain PhD qualifications, arguing that fellowship qualifications already meet the research, teaching and training requirements for the role.

The association further opposed the forced migration of members above 65 years from the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure, describing it as a demotion that results in pay cuts and pension losses.

Orhue acknowledged that the Minister of Education had supported salary parity for medical academics and communicated that position to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, but said some government agencies were frustrating implementation.

The NAMDA president warned that continued government inaction would leave the association with no option but to deploy lawful trade union mechanisms, a step that would directly disrupt lectures, clinical training and academic calendars for thousands of medical and dental students in Nigerian universities.