Nurses embark on strike days after doctors in Abuja ended theirs
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nurses and midwives in Katsina have withdrawn their services from hospitals in frontline and vulnerable communities over poor remuneration, welfare, as well as worsening insecurity, less than a week after doctors ended their strike in Abuja.
Doctors in public hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja resumed work from a three-day warning strike last Saturday after FCT Minister Nyesom Wike met their immediate demands.
Katsina State Council of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) announced its own industrial action on Tuesday.
NANNM decried the plight of health workers in the state, disclosing that despite working under extreme pressure and life-threatening conditions, their hazard allowance remains a meagre N5,000 per month.
It noted that Katsina has only about 1,000 nurses and midwives in its employment, leading to chronic manpower shortages and overwhelming workloads for those in service.
“We are receiving one of the lowest remunerations in Nigeria, with inadequate welfare and an increasing rate of resignations as health workers leave for better opportunities elsewhere,” the association said, according to Leadership.
NANNM also listed among its complaints:
- The abduction of a nurse, Yusuf Mairuwa, from General Hospital Kankara on January 15.
- Mairuwa’s abduction followed previous attacks on nurses in the state, listing the victims to include Murtala Safana who was murdered in 2022, permanent eye injury to Hamza Saleh, and kidnapping of a nurse’s wife from General Hospital Kurfi in 2024 with N5 million paid as ransom.
- Despite a formal letter written to the Katsina government demanding enhanced security within two weeks, no significant action has been taken.
- Without urgent intervention, the safety of healthcare workers remains compromised.
Katsina Health Commissioner Musa Adamu said he has met with NANNM leaders and about 85 per cent of their grouses have been resolved.
Adamu ruled out government plan to pay ransom for the release of Mairruwa and others held by terrorists.
He commended the nurses and midwives for voicing out their plans but explained that the government has already taken several measures to secure all hospitals in the state as well as provide additional personnel across healthcare facilities.
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