The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Federal Health Institutions (FHI) sector, has condemned a recent circular from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, describing it as biased and dismissive of nurses’ roles in the public health system. The circular, No. SWC/S/04/S.218/III/646, dated June 27 and titled “Review of Allowances for Medical/Dental Officers in the Federal Public Service,” was criticized for leaving out nurses from revised allowance structures. Following an emergency National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, the association emphasized that nurses make up between 60 to 70 percent of the healthcare workforce and deserve equal consideration.
Speaking to reporters, NANNM-FHI President, Morakinyo-Olajide Rilwan, expressed disappointment that such a significant policy was issued without engaging the association. He stated that the circular failed to include vital benefits owed to nurses, such as shift, call duty, uniform, retention, and specialist allowances. “Nurses run intensive shifts, spending extended hours with patients and their relatives. Yet, our current shift allowance is just 8.5 per cent of our salary, despite a 2009 circular approving 30 per cent of basic salary,” he said. Rilwan further noted that due to hygiene standards, nurses change uniforms several times a day and deserve a realistic uniform allowance, stating, “Uniforms are essential, not optional. At a minimum, we need three uniforms a week.”
He also criticised the discriminatory approach to specialist allowances, pointing out that nursing has numerous specialist cadres that should not be sidelined. Rilwan urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to retain qualified nurses who are leaving Nigeria for better conditions abroad. “Nigeria has the nurses, but we are losing them due to poor welfare and policy neglect,” he warned. He also called for the immediate reconstitution of the Governing Board of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, which he said has been inactive for years. According to him, nurses should also be appointed to the boards of Federal Health Institutions, given their overwhelming presence in the sector.
Addressing other pressing issues, Rilwan voiced concern over the withdrawal of nurse educators particularly those on grade levels 7 and 8 from clinical responsibilities, despite their crucial role in mentoring student nurses. “The same circular states that trainers should be paid. Yet, those training others are being sidelined,” he pointed out. He further demanded the establishment of a centralized internship program for university-trained nurses to enable their participation in the National Youth Service Corps. Additionally, Rilwan advocated for the creation of a dedicated Department of Nursing under the Federal Ministry of Health, with subdivisions for training, data, and clinical practice. While stressing the association’s openness to dialogue, he cautioned that continued inaction on the government’s part could provoke industrial action
