Nigerian Nurses to Begin Nationwide Warning Strike, Healthcare Services Set for Major Disruption

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

The strike, which follows the expiration of a 15-day ultimatum issued on July 14, will affect 74 federal hospitals, as well as general hospitals and primary healthcare centres across all 36 states and the FCT. Services at teaching hospitals, federal medical centres, and specialist institutions including orthopaedic, neuro-psychiatric and eye hospitals will also be suspended.

The nurses are protesting poor remuneration, unsafe working conditions, unpaid allowances, and chronic staff shortages, all of which they say have been ignored by the Federal Government. Despite the ultimatum, no negotiations have been initiated, the union claims.

Speaking with the press, National Chairman of NANNM-FHI, Morakinyo Rilwan, described the strike as inevitable. He cited demands including an upward review of shift and uniform allowances, creation of a dedicated salary structure for nurses, implementation of an already-approved scheme of service, and the establishment of a nursing department within the Federal Ministry of Health.

Rilwan explained that nurses who work round-the-clock shifts currently receive only 6.8% of their basic salary as shift allowance instead of the 30% mandated by a 2009 circular. “We’re treated the same as gatekeepers on shift duty. It’s disrespectful,” he said.

He added that nurses have received only ₦20,000 annually for uniforms for the past two decades, even though their uniforms require constant replacement. Meanwhile, allowances for doctors’ lab coats have been reviewed, leaving nurses behind.

The union is also demanding an increase in core duty allowance from 1.7% to 4%, mass recruitment of nurses, and immediate reconstitution of the Nursing and Midwifery Council Board, which has been inactive for over four years.

“Nigeria produces over 10,000 nurses annually, yet many remain underemployed or are forced to accept poorly paid locum contracts,” Rilwan added. “The shortage isn’t from lack of supply—it’s from lack of commitment to employment and welfare.”

Echoing these concerns, National PRO Omomo Tibiebi confirmed that the strike would be total, with no emergency or skeletal services. “The warning strike begins at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30. Every level of public healthcare will be affected,” he said