NANNM MOU Betrayal: Government Neglects Nurses’ Crisis Amid Expired Deadline

NANNM MOU Betrayal: Government Neglects Nurses’ Crisis Amid Expired Deadline

Abuja, Nigeria –, Monday, August 25, 2025 – The pain cuts deep for Nigeria’s nurses as the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) grapples with a devastating betrayal. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed with a flicker of hope on August 1, 2025, to end the seven-day warning strike that began on July 30, 2025, has crumbled into disappointment.

The August 15, 2025, deadline for addressing their heartfelt pleas—better pay, safer workplaces, and the dignity they deserve—has slipped by unanswered, and with just hours left until the September 5, 2025, gazetting deadline, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) remains silent. These nurses, who tirelessly care for the sick and vulnerable, now feel abandoned, their dreams of a fair future dashed by a government that promised the world but delivered nothing. Fellow Nurses Africa, brings this updates as the crisis deepens.

The strike was born from a 15-day ultimatum that expired on July 29, 2025, a cry against years of hardship—meager wages that barely feed their families, wards lacking basic safety, and the heartbreak of losing colleagues to better opportunities abroad. The MOU, signed by Dr. T. A. Shettima, General Secretary, and Com. Nurse Haruna Mamman, National President, held out hope with promises: a 30% shift duty allowance, 20% specialist allowance, ₦300,000 annual uniform allowance, 4% call duty allowance, 35% teaching allowance, and payments for workload and retention to curb the brain drain. The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMOH&SW) was to finalize these by August 15, 2025, and gazette the 2016 Nurses Scheme of Service by September 5, 2025. Yet, ten days past the first deadline, and with hours ticking down on the second, not a single step has been taken.

Nurses across the nation are pouring out their anguish. A source who spoke to our correspondent, voice heavy with exhaustion, said, “We’ve given up on this government—they’ve left us to struggle alone.”

Another, fighting back tears, warned, “If we strike again, it’s their fault for breaking every promise.” Daily Trust and The Nation have chronicled the government’s repeated delays, a pattern that has left nurses feeling invisible. The FMOH&SW’s failure delay means allowances—vital for parents trying to clothe their children or pay rent—remain a distant dream. The gazetting deadline, meant to secure their professional future, looms with no sign of progress.

NANNM leadership, after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on August 13, 2025, is wrestling with what comes next. These nurses, who hold hands through life’s toughest moments, deserve more than empty words. The MOU’s promises, now feel like cruel jokes as trust erodes.

Fellow Nurses Africa stands shoulder-to-shoulder with these nurses, promising to track every development and deliver updates. The cries on #NANNMStrike2025 and #SupportNigerianNurses grow louder, begging the FGN to act before the September 5 deadline passes.

As the clock ticks down, the government’s neglect risks plunging these caregivers—and Nigeria’s healthcare—into a darker crisis. Will they finally listen, or leave these heroes to bear the burden alone?

Fellow Nurses Africa is the independent voice of African nursing, we educate, inform and support the nursing profession.