The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has expressed dissatisfaction over alleged neglect in the ministerial nominations of President Bola Tinubu.
Deborah Yusuf, Chairman of NANNM, FCT Chapter, disclosed this to newsmen on Tuesday at the cultural carnival of the nurses, food beverage and craft exhibition.
The event was part of the activities marking the 2023 FCT Nurses Week, which began on Friday.
Yusuf expressed disappointment at the president’s ministerial nominees, saying there was no single nurse on the list, and that this did not go down well with the association.
The chairman who stated that nurses were relegated to the background, wondered if there were no nurses to represent the profession in the president’s cabinet.
She, however, appealed to the president to look into the issue and redress it by appointing nurses into his government in ministerial positions, personal assistants and special assistants.
“We are not happy with this situation; we are appealing to President Tinubu to look into that.
“We have so many nurses with good qualifications that can stand the test of the time; government should be fair in whatever it is doing, all other professionals are accommodated on the list but there is no nurse.
“This is unfair, nurses are respected all over the world, we have nurses who are surgeons general, directors general outside Nigeria, but in Nigeria nurses have been relegated to the background.
“We are not happy about this, all we are looking for is fair share because we are part of the society; let us equally enjoy the same privileges other people are enjoying, nurses are vital to the healthcare delivery system.
“You can have the best doctors, the best radiologists, the best life scientists but if you don’t have the nurse that will administer the medication, the exercise is in futility; nurses are always on duty 24/7.
“So we are calling on the government to look at the nurses and elevate us; let us have a voice; let us have our own share,” she stressed.
The chairman also called on government, particularly the minister of health, to look into the challenges confronting the nursing profession in terms of reviewing and upgrading the Consolidated Health Workers Salary Structure (COHESS).
Yusuf, who noted that COHESS had not been reviewed for a very long time, also called for a review of allowances the nurses were entitled to such as hazard, uniform, rural, shift and call duty.
She said part of the challenges were the
reasons medical workers, particularly the nurses, were leaving the shores of the country, calling it the Japa syndrome.
She stated earlier that the cultural carnival was basically organised to promote unity among the nurses while in their workplaces and the nation at large.
According to her, the nurses want to show the world that they are also in the cultural diversity of the country and to unite Nigerians, adding that whatever the country is doing without the unity of the people, it has not gotten it right.
She called on nurses nationwide to be united, and keep away ethnicity and religion differences for the betterment of the country and nursing profession in particular.
