Following the new guidelines released by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) for Nigerian nurses, nurses under the aegis of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Abuja chapter, on Monday, embarked on a protest.
The protest which was against the new verification of certification guidelines was carried out at the NMCN’s office in Abuja.
The nurses during the protest noted that the new guideline is geared towards hindering their freedom and stopping them from properly harnessing all the opportunities embedded in their profession.
While expressing dissatisfaction, the nurses called on the NMCN to scrap the new guidelines which it had initially said would kick off from March 1, 2024, as they are not going to abide by it.
The nurses further called on the NMCN to address the rising unemployment among certified nurses across the country instead of bringing up new guidelines to further frustrate them.
They also noted that the council should also wake up to fight quackery which is gradually becoming the order of the day in the profession.
Speaking further, they charged the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria to step up its game in terms of the welfare of nurses, salary scale, shortage of staff, and other rights, noting that, an average Nigerian nurse is usually overworked with little to no proper attention given to their welfare.
The nurses also stated that it is the responsibility of the NMCN to protect nurses instead they have become the ones fighting the same people they are meant to protest with new guidelines that are inhumane.
News About Nigeria recalls that the NMCN had on February 7, 2024, issued a circular revising the guidelines for requesting verification of certificates for nurses and midwives.
In the circular, the body among other guidelines mandates that nurses would be eligible to work in foreign countries if they have two years post-qualification experience from the date of issuance of the permanent practicing license, noting that any application with a provisional licence shall be outrightly rejected.
