Healthcare services across Nigeria are set to face a major disruption as nurses under the aegis of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Federal Health Institutions Sector, commence a seven-day nationwide warning strike on Wednesday, July 30.
The industrial action will affect 74 federal hospitals, including teaching hospitals, federal medical centres, and specialist institutions, as well as general hospitals and primary healthcare centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The strike follows the expiration of a 15-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government on July 14, over longstanding grievances including poor remuneration, unpaid allowances, staff shortages, and unsafe working conditions.
Speaking with reporters, NANNM-FHI National Chairman, Comrade Morakinyo Rilwan, said the strike had become inevitable due to government inaction.
“We have been demanding an upward review of shift and uniform allowances, a separate salary structure for nurses, increased core duty allowance, mass employment of nurses, and the establishment of a dedicated Department of Nursing in the Federal Ministry of Health,” Rilwan stated.
He decried the continued placement of nurses on the same salary scale as other health workers, without recognition of their unique contributions and intensive work schedules.
“Nurses are the only professionals running 24-hour shifts, often under unsafe conditions. A 2009 circular mandates a 30% shift allowance, yet we receive only 6.8%, the same as gatekeepers,” he lamented.
Rilwan also criticised the stagnant N20,000 annual uniform allowance, unchanged for over two decades, noting the financial burden on nurses who must frequently replace white uniforms due to stains.
While allowances for other professionals have recently been reviewed, nurses have been excluded, he said.
He further highlighted the need to increase the core duty allowance from 1.7% to 4%, and to implement the 2016 approved scheme of service, which remains dormant.
“Despite the critical role nurses play, there’s still no dedicated nursing department in the ministry.
Directors overseeing nursing often report to others outside the profession, undermining our work,” he said.
Rilwan also raised concerns about chronic shortages of medical supplies in hospitals, forcing nurses to improvise at the risk of their own health.
He noted that while Nigeria produces over 10,000 nurses annually, poor employment practices and remuneration have driven many to seek opportunities abroad.
The union is also demanding the reconstitution of the Nursing and Midwifery Council Board, which has been inactive for more than four years.
National PRO of the association, Omomo Tibiebi, confirmed that the strike would be total.
“There will be no services, not even emergency care.
The 15-day ultimatum ends at midnight on Tuesday, July 29, and the strike begins at 12:01 am on Wednesday, July 30,” Tibiebi said.