Medical professionals working for the Lagos State Government have announced a three-day warning strike that would start at 8 a.m. today (Monday, July 28) in protest of what they say are unfair salary deductions.
The announcement was reportedly made at a news conference hosted by the Medical Guild of Lagos State at their secretariat. Dr. Japhet Olugbogi, the guild’s chairman, denounced what he called a “unilateral deduction” from physicians’ pay.
The disagreement started in April 2025, according to Olugbogi, when the Lagos State Government allegedly withheld money from the salaries of all dentists and doctors without consulting them or giving them advance warning.
He said the move caused a lot of people to be outraged and was first undone after “spirited intervention and strategic engagement” with the government.
A conciliation committee with six members, equally represented by the Guild and the government, was established as a result of this interaction.
Olugbogi stated, “It was decided that the status quo would be maintained while the government deliberated internally after we presented all pertinent documents clarifying the calculation of the CONMESS salary scale.”
If their demands are not granted, the doctors stated that their walkout will continue until Thursday, July 31.
The Lagos State Treasury Office started deductions in July, notwithstanding the agreements reached, which the Guild chairman bemoaned as a “breach of trust.”
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At first, he said, many members had called for an immediate strike, but the Guild decided to pursue lobbying and diplomacy instead.
“We have been obliged to take this course due to the July deduction. This is betraying the trust, not merely breaking the agreement,” Olugbogi stated.
Among the requests made by the doctors, according to reports, is the full payment of the 12-month revised CONMESS arrears owed to honorary consultants at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
The Guild also threatened a full-scale indefinite strike if the state government did not comply with its demands, giving it a 21-day ultimatum.
Olugbogi disclosed, “Let it be known that the most senior doctor in Lagos State employment does not earn up to $1,100,” highlighting the financial difficulties that physicians endure.
“Yet, the government, wisely, believes that the best way to inspire the health workforce is to cut this pitiful income.”
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was urged by him to step in immediately and make sure that the “illegally deducted funds” were reversed.
