Nurses to Commence Nationwide Strike Wednesday, Disrupting Health Services

Healthcare services across Nigeria are expected to experience major disruptions beginning Wednesday, July 30, 2025, as nurses under the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Federal Health Institutions Sector, embark on a seven-day nationwide warning strike.

The industrial action will impact 74 federal health institutions, including teaching hospitals, federal medical centres, specialist hospitals, as well as general hospitals and primary healthcare centres across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The strike is in response to long-standing grievances over poor remuneration, critical staff shortages, unpaid allowances, unsafe working conditions, and a lack of institutional recognition for nurses’ contributions to the healthcare system.

The association had issued a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Government on July 14, demanding urgent intervention to prevent the strike. However, union leaders say the government failed to initiate any dialogue or offer concrete solutions before the deadline.

National Chairman of the NANNM-FHI, Morakinyo Rilwan, outlined several demands including a dedicated salary structure for nurses, upward review of shift and uniform allowances, increased core duty allowances, and mass recruitment into the nursing workforce.

Rilwan emphasized the need for a separate salary structure tailored to the unique responsibilities nurses carry, noting that they currently share a general health worker pay scale that does not reflect their round-the-clock duties.

“Nurses work 24-hour shifts, including nights, which are increasingly dangerous due to security concerns. Yet the shift allowance stands at just 6.8% instead of the 30% stipulated in a 2009 circular,” he said.

He also pointed to the stagnant uniform allowance of ₦20,000 per year, unchanged for over two decades, as inadequate for maintaining the required dress standards, especially given the frequency with which uniforms must be replaced.

“Doctors and other health professionals recently had their wardrobe allowances reviewed, but nurses were excluded. Uniform allowance is not a luxury; it’s a necessity for our profession,” he added.

The union is also calling for the implementation of a nursing-specific scheme of service approved since 2016, but still not operational, and for the establishment of a Department of Nursing within the Federal Ministry of Health, led by a dedicated director. According to Rilwan, the current arrangement forces nursing directors to report to heads of other departments, undermining the profession’s autonomy.

He further expressed concern over a lack of basic medical supplies in many hospitals, stating that nurses are often forced to improvise due to shortages of gloves, gauze, and syringes, endangering both their lives and patient care.

Despite widespread claims of a nursing shortage, Rilwan noted that Nigeria trains over 10,000 nurses annually, many of whom are either unemployed or underemployed in poorly paid private facilities or temporary roles in government hospitals.

“We have the workforce. The issue is the lack of proper employment and retention policies,” he said.

Another key demand is the reconstitution of the Nursing and Midwifery Council Board, which has remained dissolved for more than four years.

Speaking on the scope of the strike, Rilwan confirmed it would affect all levels of public healthcare, from teaching hospitals and specialist institutions to primary health centres across the country’s 774 local government areas.

National Public Relations Officer of the association, Omomo Tibiebi, stated that the strike would be total, with no services provided, including emergencies.

“There will be no skeletal or emergency services. The warning strike begins at exactly 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30,” Tibiebi said.