Nurses Council Silent Over Certificate Verification Guidelines
By Ejiofor Toochi
On Tuesday, nurses under the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NMCN) converged in Ikeja to voice their opposition against the recently released verification certification guidelines by the council.
Earlier in February 2024, the NMCN had announced that individuals seeking certificate verification for foreign nursing boards and councils must possess a minimum of two years of post-qualification experience. Additionally, applicants were mandated to pay a non-refundable fee per application for verification to foreign nursing boards, as specified on the council’s portal.
The announcement sparked protests in Lagos and Abuja, as nurses argued that the guidelines infringed upon their rights. Despite their demonstrations, their demands were not addressed, prompting the nurses to take to the streets once again.
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The protest kicked off at Allen Avenue, Ikeja and stopped at the Lagos State House of Assembly and Lagos State Ministry of Health with the submission of letter.
The protest was joined by representatives from Campaign for Democratic and workers’ rights (CDWR) and Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM).
Speaking to IkejaBird, Thomas Abiodun Olamide, the convener for the Lagos nurses protest explained that they were forced to protest again seeing as the Nursing Council went silent and their demands haven’t been met.
She said, “Our demands are yet to be met, and the Nursing Council is not saying anything, despite the house of representatives intervention. Right now, the verification portal has been suspended. It has been shut temporarily and that is not what we wrote in our demands.”
“The special adviser on health promised to address nurses, they’ve not done anything till now. And immigration of nurses is not the problem, but unemployment. There are thousands of nurses out there that are unemployed, you can’t now stop them from seeking employment elsewhere when the government is not employing. So we believe we need to express our grievances again,” she added.
Abiodun stated that despite the council’s earlier directive to suspend the protest, they chose to defy it and proceed with their demonstration. There is optimism that the government will engage with them and address their concerns.
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