Abuja nurses protest new certificate verification guidelines

The protest by nurses under the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Abuja chapter, against the new verification certification guidelines released by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) underscores significant dissatisfaction within the nursing community regarding these guidelines.

Their grievances seem to stem from concerns about potential obstacles to career advancement, as well as broader issues related to nurses’ welfare, salary scales, staffing shortages, and other rights.

The fact that the protest was carried out at the NMCN’s office in Abuja indicates that the nurses are directly addressing the regulatory body responsible for implementing these guidelines.

The circular issued by the NMCN on February 7, 2024, seems to introduce a fee for certificate verification requests, which includes costs for courier services to various institutions and foreign boards. This fee structure might be one of the points of contention for the protesting nurses.

This development suggests a need for dialogue between the nursing community and the NMCN to address the concerns raised by the nurses and potentially revise the guidelines in a way that addresses both regulatory requirements and the concerns of nurses regarding their career progression, welfare, and rights.

“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 council also stated 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.

It added that the implementation of the guidelines takes effect from March 1, 2024

Meanwhile, on Monday, the nurses and midwives were at the NMCN office singing and wielding placards around the premises .

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read, “Address unemployment among nurses, address quakery, address nurses welfare, and “#No to verification rules. Stop frustrating the 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” among others.