Fellow Nurses Africa
5 December 2025
Approve Consultant Nursing Cadres and We Leave the Hospitals – NMA Petitions National Council on Establishment
Nigeria’s doctors have delivered an extraordinary ultimatum to the government: approve the creation of Consultant Nurse, Consultant Midwife and further entrench Consultant Pharmacist posts in public hospitals, and physicians will refuse to continue practising in those facilities.
In a five-page petition dated 1 December 2025 and addressed to the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) – the academic wing of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) – demands that the ongoing National Council on Establishment meeting in Kano immediately halt the proposed cadres.
The doctors argue that the title “Consultant” within a hospital setting is exclusively reserved by law and international convention for specialist medical doctors and dentists who carry ultimate clinical and legal responsibility for patients. They cite four statutes:
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- Medical and Dental Practitioners Act
- National Postgraduate Medical College Act
- Residency Training Act
- National Health Act
The petition accuses the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of pressuring hospital chief executives to laterally convert fellowship-qualified pharmacists – and potentially nurses – into consultant-grade posts, in breach of public-service rules on vacancy, need and open recruitment.
In stark language, the NMA declares:
“We wish to place on record that members of the NMA shall not practise in the same environment where these groups of clinically irrelevant positions function in Nigerian hospitals nationwide. We will not be held accountable.”
The association proposes instead that nurses, pharmacists and other allied professionals who obtain postgraduate fellowships be designated “Specialists” within hospitals and negotiate appropriate allowances without altering the clinical governance structure.
Fellow Nurses Africa understands the matter is listed for decision at the current National Council on Establishment session.
The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, and the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria are yet to respond publicly to the petition.
The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare have been contacted for comment.
This development marks one of the most serious escalations in inter-professional relations in Nigeria’s health sector in recent years, with potential consequences for service delivery and patient safety.
Fellow Nurses Africa will provide updates as the situation develops.
_Fellow Nurses Africa is the independent voice of African nursing, we educate, inform and support nurses across Africa_
