Nurses strike in Nigeria halts public hospital operations, leaving patients stranded. NANNM demands shift allowance, better pay, and healthcare reform

Nurses strike in Nigeria has led to widespread chaos in public hospitals across the country as patients are left stranded without care, following a seven-day warning strike by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) in the Federal Health Institutions Sector.

Also read: Nurses Strike in Oyo State Begins July 30 Over Poor Welfare, Staffing Crisis

From Abuja to Yenagoa, patients queued endlessly, many were discharged prematurely, and hospital wards stood deserted.

In some centres, doctors and locum staff tried—often unsuccessfully—to manage overwhelming workloads in the absence of nurses.

The strike, sparked by unmet demands for improved working conditions, pay, and recognition, follows a 15-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government.

NANNM insists that unless their demands are addressed, they will proceed to an indefinite nationwide strike.

Among their nine-point demands: a shift allowance review, mass employment of nurses, creation of a nursing department within the Federal Ministry of Health, gazetting of the nursing scheme of service, and inclusion in policy leadership.

In Abuja’s FMC, NANNM chairman Victor Asu confirmed total compliance.

“No member will attend to patients. Normally, nurses provide 24/7 care, but for now, we are fully on strike.”

Hospitals in Rivers, Bayelsa, Benue, Gombe, Ogun, Sokoto, and Borno recorded similar scenes of distress.

In Yenagoa’s FMC, Liberia Progress, local NANNM leader, declared there would be no skeletal services during the strike, saying, “Enough is enough.”

Patients were seen moving helplessly from ward to ward, many left unattended for hours.

In Abuja, a mother lamented the long wait at an immunisation clinic. “I still need to go to the office,” she sighed.

At the National Hospital Abuja and General Hospital Kubwa, critical care units struggled.

“We’re overwhelmed,” a doctor revealed anonymously. “We can only offer basic care without the nurses.”

The Federal Government has scheduled a high-level stakeholders’ meeting for Friday with NANNM, coordinated by Health Minister Prof. Muhammad Pate.

According to Dame Okafor, Director of Nursing Services, “The minister cut short his trip to Maiduguri to resolve this urgently.”

The union, however, warns of further action. “If the government doesn’t meet our demands, we’ll issue a 21-day ultimatum for a total shutdown,” said Joe Akpi of Wuse General Hospital.

With nurses forming the backbone of Nigeria’s healthcare system, the strike exposes systemic neglect, overstretched services, and urgent need for policy reform.

Also read: Ondo Doctors Warning Strike Disrupts Health Services Over Unmet Demands

NANNM’s message is clear: without nurses, hospitals cannot function.