Nurses threaten to join FCT resident doctors’ strike

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses And Midwives (NANNAM) has threatened to go on strike over the non-payment of 13 months’ worth of outstanding hazard allowances and other arrears.  To the end, the association has given the FCT Administration 15-day ultimatum to address their demands or risk indefinite […]

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses And Midwives (NANNAM) has threatened to go on strike over the non-payment of 13 months’ worth of outstanding hazard allowances and other arrears. 

To the end, the association has given the FCT Administration 15-day ultimatum to address their demands or risk indefinite strike.

Abuja Metro reports that the nurses’ threat is coming when the resident doctors in the territory had embarked on indefinite strike over similar demands.

Our correspondent further reports that since the doctors have gone on strike, nurses have been the ones attending to patients with special attention.

If the doctors make good of their threat, then all the general hospitals in the nation’s capital will be shut down in the coming days. 

Among other concerns raised by the nurses is the deteriorating state of infrastructure in hospitals across the territory.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja late Tuesday night, NANNAM Secretary Comrade, Nanman Philmon Kash, said the decision was made during the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting on July 24, 2025.

She noted that the association is also grappling with a severe shortage of various specialized nurses, including General Duty Nurses, Midwives, Paediatricnurses, Nurse Anaesthetists, Peri-operative nurses, Intensive Care nurses, and Accident and Emergency nurses.

Kash said the FCTA needs to recruit over 5,000 nurses to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) standard of one nurse per four patients, a stark contrast to the current FCT ratio of one nurse per 30 patients.

 This shortage, she added, is detrimental to the health of nurses.

“Our nurses are falling sick more often these days,” she said. “There is a need for urgent recruitment to keep up with the increasing and growing population of the FCT.”

The association also protested the unauthorized stoppage of allowances for nurses working in rural and teaching hospitals. They demanded the immediate reinstatement of these allowances and the payment of all arrears since November 2024.

Additionally, NANNAM called for the immediate renovation of dilapidated nurses’ call rooms and duty rooms, as well as those for anaesthetists and peri-operative nurses in all FCTA hospitals.

The association further decried the non-remittance of pension deductions to administrators and the double deduction of pension contributions from their members over the years.

“Furthermore, our members have not been promoted to certain cadres since 2023, as stipulated in the unified scheme of service for nurses approved by the Head of Service of the Federation,” the association said. 

It added, “There has also been a lack of key appointments of principal officers at the FCT College of Nursing Science in Gwagwalada since 2023.”

Kash also lamented the inadequate accommodation for students at the FCT College of Nursing Science and demanded the construction of more hostel facilities.

Other issues raised included inconsistency in salary payments by the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), the non-payment of overhead costs to departments, and a lack of training for nurses and midwives. 

The association also demanded a refund of all monies deducted from its members due to the ineffectiveness of the National Housing Authority.

The SEC has directed the leadership to issue the ultimatum to the FCTA, effective Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 12am, and expiring on Thursday, October 2, 2025, at 12am.

“Consequently, all members of the association in the FCT are by this notice mandated to join the ultimatum and the subsequent strike,” NANNAM stated. 

“Unit leaders are hereby enjoined to mobilize our members for total compliance,” the association directed.