A nationwide seven-day warning strike by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), which began at midnight on July 29, 2025, has severely disrupted healthcare services across Nigeria, leaving hospitals overwhelmed and patients at risk.
The strike was triggered by the federal government’s failure to meet nine critical demands after a 15-day ultimatum. While nurses in some states such as Kaduna and Enugu continued work, the majority of federal hospitals, including teaching hospitals and medical centers across Nigeria’s 36 states and 774 local government areas, are largely paralyzed.
At the National Hospital Abuja, the Outpatient Department faced massive congestion, managed by a skeleton staff of doctors and health assistants. The Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Jabi reportedly considered turning away new patients due to acute nursing shortages, maintaining services only for critical cases.
In Bayelsa State, hospitals like Amarata Primary Health Centre in Yenagoa were closed, with patients left unattended at FMC Yenagoa. NANNM’s chairman there, Woyengibarafagha Progress, confirmed total compliance, citing overwork and under-recognition of nurses, alongside demands for better allowances, equipment, and recruitment.
Similar shutdowns occurred at the Federal University Teaching Hospital in Lafia, Nasarawa State, where nursing stations were reportedly empty. In Sokoto, medical and nursing students at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital and Sokoto State Specialist Hospital tried to fill the gaps but fell short. Patients and relatives expressed frustration over the inability to receive care.
While compliance was high in states including Kogi, Plateau, Kwara, Ebonyi, Abia, Bauchi, and Borno, nurses in Kaduna and Enugu largely rejected the strike, continuing to attend to patients. In Kaduna’s Gwamna Awan General Hospital, a nurse simply said, “We haven’t joined the strike, but I don’t know why.” Similar sentiments were reported at Enugu’s Parklane Teaching Hospital.
Doctors have had to shoulder additional nursing responsibilities, such as administering medications and monitoring patients’ vital signs, increasing their workload significantly. At the University of Calabar, doctors were observed performing these dual roles, with officials at the National Hospital Abuja acknowledging the critical impact of nursing staff shortages on hospital operations.
Despite the mobilization of medical and nursing students in some hospitals, including Ebonyi’s Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, staffing shortages remain acute. A locum nurse admitted the difficulty in meeting patients’ needs amid the crisis.
The strike’s effects have sparked protests and public outcry. At FMC Asaba, Delta State, patients protested frequent strikes, blaming disruptions for lost lives. Mrs. Agnes Abiago lamented, “There’s barely a fortnight without a strike at this hospital.” In Bayelsa, a mother with a sick child criticized the lack of care at FMC Yenagoa. In Borno, a patient was left stranded at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Maiduguri.
Social media users amplified the alarm, with posts describing the strike as a “national emergency” and hospitals “in disarray,” urging urgent government intervention.
NANNM’s demands include gazetting the 2016 revised nurses’ scheme of service, enforcement of a 2012 National Industrial Court judgment, increased professional allowances, mass recruitment, healthcare infrastructure improvements, and the establishment of a dedicated Department of Nursing in the Federal Ministry of Health.
Comrade Joseph Awujah Akpi, NANNM chairman at the National Hospital, stressed the need for official recognition of nursing as an independent profession.
Government efforts to avert the strike failed, with a July 29 meeting led by Labour Minister Muhammad Dingyadi ending without resolution. NANNM’s National Chairman, Morakinyo Rilwan, condemned the government’s insensitivity, warning that failure to meet demands within a 21-day post-strike ultimatum could lead to indefinite industrial action.
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