Nurses protest against new verification guidelines with a hidden agenda
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nurses have begun in Abuja their protest against the new verification certification guidelines released by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) which they say violate their human rights and delay their search for greener pastures.
The protest was organised by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) at the headquarters of the NMCN on Monday.
The nurses and midwives sang songs and displayed placards around the premises. Some of the placards read:
- “Address unemployment among nurses, address quackery, address nurses welfare”
- “#No to verification rules”
- “Stop frustrating Nigerian nurses; we are going through a lot already. Protect nurses, protect healthcare, NMCN; we say no to the verification rules, NMCN; don’t reduce nurses”
The nurses are complaining over what they described as an attempt to hinder their freedom to pursue career opportunities overseas.
They want the NMCN to address their welfare, salary scale, shortage of staff, and other rights.
The NMCN issued a circular on February 7 revising the guidelines for requesting verification of certificates for nurses and midwives.
The circular emerged after a report of the deactivation of the verification portal on the NMCN website since December 2023.
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Verification targets foreign boards of nursing
“A non-refundable fee per application shall be paid for verification by foreign boards of nursing as specified on the portal,” said the circular, which was signed by NMCN Registrar Faruk Abubakar.
“This shall cover the cost of courier services to the applicant’s institution(s) of training, place of work, and foreign board.
“Eligible applicants must have a minimum of two years post qualification experience from the date of issuance of the permanent practicing licence. Any application with a provisional licence shall be rejected outright.
“The council shall request a letter of good standing from the chief executive officer of the applicant’s place(s) of work and the last nursing training institution attended and responses on these shall be addressed directly to the Registrar/CEO, NMCN. Please note that the council shall not accept such letter(s) through the applicant.
The NMCN also announced that applicants must have active practising licences with a minimum of six months to the expiration date, and processing of verification applications would take a minimum of six months.
Implementation of the guidelines takes effect on 1 March 2024, the circular added.
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