Nigerian Nurses Begin Nationwide Seven-Day Warning Strike Over Poor Welfare Conditions

Nigerian nurses under the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Federal Health Institutions Sector, have commenced a seven-day nationwide warning strike starting Wednesday, July 30, 2025. The strike follows the expiration of a 15-day ultimatum issued to the federal government, which, according to the union, failed to initiate any form of negotiation.

The action affects 74 federal health institutions across the country, including teaching hospitals, federal medical centres, specialist hospitals, general hospitals, and primary healthcare centres in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

However, private hospitals are not included, as the union noted that private nurses are not widely represented across the country.

Speaking on the development, the National Chairman of NANNM-FHI, Morakinyo Rilwan, said the strike was prompted by longstanding grievances such as poor remuneration, acute staff shortages, unpaid allowances, and unsafe working conditions.

He added that the government’s silence since the ultimatum was issued on July 14 had made the strike inevitable.

Rilwan also emphasized the nurses’ frustration with delays in implementing the scheme of service approved in 2016 and the lack of action on a court judgment delivered in 2012.

He criticized the exclusion of nurses from key health policy decisions and boards, the absence of a dedicated nursing department in the Ministry of Health, and what he described as an unfair circular recently issued on revised allowances.

He warned that unless the federal government acts promptly and meaningfully addresses their concerns, the warning strike could escalate into a total shutdown of healthcare services in federal institutions nationwide.