The federal government has committed to implementing key structural reforms aimed at improving the welfare and professional standing of nurses across the country as the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, NANNM, suspended its seven-day warning strike weekend.
The strike, which disrupted healthcare services across the country as nurses and midwives downed tools in protest of unresolved issues concerning their welfare, professional recognition, and working conditions, was called off after extensive deliberations that led to mutual agreements and key resolutions by the parties involved.
A Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, reached at the end of a reconciliation meeting held on Friday August 1, 2025, between the federal government and the NANNM at the instance of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, finalised reconciliation moves to end the industrial dispute.
The seven-point agreement was signed by Comrade Haruna Mamman, President of NANNM; Comrade T.A. Shettima, General Secretary of NANNM; Dafeta T. Tetshoma, Director of Human Resources at the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare; and Falonipe Amos O., Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.
A highpoint of the agreement was the assurance by the federal government to gazette the Nurses’ Scheme of Service which was approved by the National Council on Establishments in 2016.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare will liaise with the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation to expedite the process, even as the Director of Nursing and the Secretary General of NANNM were tasked with following up with the Head of Service to ensure completion within four weeks.
The Scheme outlined the career structure and professional framework for nurses in Nigeria and its gazetting is expected to bring long-awaited clarity and recognition to the nursing profession within the public service.
On professional allowances, the federal government acknowledged the union’s proposals, which included a 30 per cent consolidated shift duty allowance, a 20 per cent annual specialist allowance and an upward review of uniform allowance to ¦ 300,000 per annum.
A 4 per cent consolidated call duty allowance, 35 percent teaching allowance, and the introduction of allowances for excess workload, burnout, and retention were also agreed upon.
It was also agreed that within a fortnight, the federal ministry of health and social welfare would engage in further discussions with major health professional unions, alongside the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Budget Office, the Head of Civil Service, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment, to determine the way forward.
Concerning the centralization of internship placements for graduate nurses, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria was directed to finalise modalities for centralized placement, similar to other professional groups, while ensuring equitable distribution across states to avoid concentration in Abuja and Lagos.
The union was assured of fair representation of nurses in the Boards of Tertiary Health Institutions, in line with the Acts establishing those institutions.
Additionally, the statutory Governing Board of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria will be constituted as soon as possible.
On employment and infrastructure, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare disclosed that waivers had been granted for the recruitment of over 14,000 health workers in 2024, with nurses making up approximately 60 percent of the total.
‘’The recruitment process for 2024 had been completed, while preparations for the 2025 waiver process have commenced,’’ the MoU stated.
Following the signing of the MoU, NANNM agreed to immediately call off its strike action, with both parties in agreement that no nurse would be victimised for participating in the industrial action.
Vanguard
