Medical doctors in Ondo State have threatened to embark on industrial action over worsening welfare conditions, poor remuneration and what they described as a growing collapse of the state’s healthcare system.
The warning was issued on Tuesday during a joint press briefing in Akure by the Nigerian Medical Association, the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, and the Association of Resident Doctors in Ondo State.
The health professionals accused the state government of neglecting the sector despite a sharp decline in manpower and increasing pressure on healthcare workers across government hospitals.
Speaking on behalf of the associations, Ondo State NMA Chairman, Dr Abel Alonge, said the number of doctors serving the state had dropped by nearly 50 per cent within the last 12 years, even as the population rose significantly.
According to him, Ondo’s population has increased from about 3.5 million to nearly 5.8 million during the same period, leaving the few available doctors overstretched.
“The number of doctors serving the state today has dropped by about half of what it was about 12 years ago,” Alonge said.
He added that the doctor-to-population ratio in the state currently stands at about one doctor to 6,200 residents, far below the World Health Organisation’s recommended ratio of one doctor to 600 people.
He described the situation as the worst in the South-West region.
Alonge also lamented the condition of infrastructure in many state-owned hospitals, saying several medical facilities still rely on obsolete equipment that has been in use for between 10 and 20 years.
“Some health facilities do not even have the required equipment to meet the health needs of the people,” he said.
The doctors further criticised the recent recruitment exercise announced by the Ondo State Government, insisting that many of those employed were retired doctors and house officers still undergoing training.
According to the NMA chairman, such appointments cannot adequately address the widening manpower gap confronting public hospitals.
He disclosed that many general hospitals in the state now operate with only one doctor or none at all, forcing available personnel to work under intense pressure with little support.
Also speaking, the Chairman of MDCAN in Ondo State, Dr Stephen Adewole, described Ondo as one of the lowest-paying states for healthcare workers in the South-West.
Adewole said poor salaries and difficult working conditions had triggered an exodus of doctors to neighbouring states such as Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti and Osun.
He added that the state government had yet to implement the revised federal remuneration package for medical and dental practitioners approved in November 2025.
According to him, several states across the country had already commenced implementation of the new salary structure to reduce brain drain in the health sector.
The President of the Association of Resident Doctors in Ondo State, Dr Kehinde Olagbe, also warned that continued neglect of healthcare workers could further cripple healthcare delivery in the state.
He said doctors were working under unsafe and extremely difficult conditions while remaining underpaid and overworked.
The medical associations jointly demanded immediate implementation of the federal remuneration circular with arrears, urgent recruitment of doctors, improved welfare packages and rehabilitation of healthcare infrastructure across the state.
The doctors issued a fresh seven-day ultimatum to the government after earlier 14-day and 21-day notices expired without substantial progress.
They warned that failure to address their demands could lead to industrial action capable of disrupting healthcare services across Ondo State.
Responding to the development, Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Idowu Ajanaku, said the government was ready to reopen negotiations with the doctors.
He maintained that the state had not abandoned the health sector and assured residents that efforts were ongoing to improve healthcare delivery and resolve the dispute amicably.
