Nurses working in hospitals owned by the federal government in Abuja did not go to work on Wednesday, July 30. They were following an order from the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) to begin a nationwide seven-day warning strike. The strike is due to unresolved issues with the government.
At both the National Hospital and the Federal Medical Centre in Abuja, nurses were noticeably missing from their workplaces. Because of this, patients had to find other ways to get the care that nurses usually provide.
A nurse at the National Hospital, who didn’t want her name mentioned, blamed the federal government for the disruption of services across its hospitals.
She said the strike was decided during an emergency meeting held at the National Hospital on July 10, 2025.
The nurse added that the strike happened because the Federal Government and the Ministry of Health failed to act on their complaints, even after a 15-day warning that began on July 14, 2025.
She explained that all members were told to begin the strike at midnight on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. The strike is complete, meaning no nurse should work in any federal health institution across Nigeria.
Another nurse at the Federal Medical Centre in Abuja said the strike is not just in federal hospitals. It includes all health centers where NANNM members are employed.
Rilwan Olajide, the National Chairman of Nurses in Federal Health Institutions, said the strike was because the government has not treated nurses’ concerns seriously, especially their pay and work conditions.
He said nurses had protested about these problems last year, such as issues with staff verification. While some action was taken, many other problems were ignored. Despite their warnings, the government did nothing.
He also said many skilled nurses are leaving Nigeria to work abroad because they are paid better. The government has not hired new nurses to replace those who left. The remaining nurses are overworked and not fairly paid. They want better working conditions and benefits.
Olajide confirmed that the Ministry of Labour spoke with NANNM leaders on Monday. But no agreement was reached because officials from key ministries, like Health and Social Welfare, were not at the meeting.
The nurses are asking the government to address nine key issues. These include officially recognizing the nurses’ service structure approved in 2016, following a court ruling from 2012, and increasing nurses’ professional allowances.
Other demands include hiring more nurses, providing better equipment in hospitals, creating a Nursing Department in the Ministry of Health, allowing nurses to take part in health policymaking, giving them representation in hospital boards, centralizing internship placements for graduate nurses, and allowing nurses to work as consultants.
