JUST-IN: Nurses Adamant, Say Negotiators Can’t End Strike

Contrary to the claims by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has insisted that the ongoing 7-day warning strike has not been suspended.

The strike, which began at midnight on Tuesday July 29, 2025, has continued to cripple medical services across government hospitals nationwide, with patients stranded and doctors overwhelmed by the absence of nurses.

Reacting to the comment by the Minister in the aftermath of a meeting with the union, NANNM leaders maintained that no decision had been reached to call off the strike.

They clarified that the delegation that met with the minister did not have the authority to call off the strike.

NANNM Chairman, National Hospital, Abuja, Comrade Joseph Awujah Akpi, told LEADERSHIP that the strike has not been called off.

“What they had today was a meeting with the government. Those who went are just like messengers; they cannot take decisions. The same way we were informed before the strike commenced, we must be officially informed if it will be suspended,” Akpi said.

Corroborating Akpi’s stance, the Public Relations Officer of NANNM’s Federal Health Institutions (FHI) sector, Omomo Tibiebi, said the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) will meet on Saturday to evaluate the government’s offers and decide the next line of action.

“There will be a National Executive Council meeting on Saturday. That’s when a decision will be made on whether to suspend the strike,” he said.

The striking nurses are demanding the upward review of shift allowances, adjustment of uniform allowances, implementation of a separate salary structure for nurses, increase in core duty allowances, massive recruitment of nurses, and the establishment of a Department of Nursing Services within the Federal Ministry of Health.

Hospitals across the country have been heavily affected by the strike.

With the strike set to continue, at least, until Saturday’s NEC meeting, patients across Nigeria are left waiting to hope for a quick resolution to the crisis.