Hundreds of Nigerian nurses find themselves stranded in various countries across the globe due to the continued closure of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) portal, which is essential for verifying their professional certificates.
The situation has escalated to the point where many nurses are at risk of deportation, as nursing boards in countries like the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom have stopped accepting Nigerian nursing certificates without proper verification.
The ongoing crisis has drawn the attention of the National Assembly, which has twice urged the NMCN to reopen its portal and resume the verification process based on previous guidelines.
Despite these resolutions, the Council has yet to comply, leaving many nurses in a precarious situation.
The most recent directive from the National Assembly was a letter dated August 13, 2024, titled “Negative Portrayal of the House’s Resolution.”
The letter, signed by the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Sani Magaji Tambuwal, came after Hon. Patrick Umoh raised a motion of urgent national importance, stressing the need to safeguard institutional integrity and clarify the House’s previous resolutions.
The House of Representatives had earlier urged the NMCN, in a resolution passed on February 26, 2024, not to implement the revised guidelines for verification, dated February 7, 2023, pending further investigation by the House Committee on Health Institutions.
The appeal came in response to concerns raised by stakeholders in the health sector regarding the new circular issued by the NMCN, which revised the guidelines for requesting verification of certificates to foreign nursing boards.
The crisis can be traced back to February 2024, when the NMCN expressed concern over the mass exodus of nurses from Nigeria, with over 42,000 nurses leaving the country in the past three years, including 15,000 in 2023 alone.
In response to the growing brain drain in the nation’s health sector, the Council introduced revised guidelines for verifying nursing certificates, hoping to address the crisis.
The revised guidelines, outlined in a memo dated February 7, 2024, introduced new requirements for applicants seeking verification of their certificates to foreign nursing boards or councils.
These included a minimum of two years post-qualification experience, a non-refundable application fee, and a letter of good standing from the applicant’s employer and last training institution.
The revised guidelines sparked widespread opposition from nurses and other health workers, who viewed the new requirements as an infringement on their rights and an attempt to deny them opportunities abroad.
Nurses, under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), staged protests in Abuja and Lagos, expressing their dissatisfaction with the new policy. They also threatened a nationwide strike, accusing the NMCN of hampering their freedom to seek better opportunities.
Many nurses took to social media to voice their concerns, while others filed a lawsuit against the NMCN and the Minister of Health, challenging the revised guidelines.
However, the litigation was eventually withdrawn, as the nurses sought to resolve the issue through negotiations.
A nurse from one of Nigeria’s foremost university teaching hospitals, speaking anonymously, expressed frustration over the ongoing crisis.
“The portal is not yet open despite the order from the National Assembly that it should be opened,” she told Daily Post.
“The excuse that the secretary of the NMCN is giving to us is that they are working with the IT people so that they can reset the portal to its previous setting.
“We are not happy that people are leaving the country, but the working conditions in Nigeria are crazy,” she said, citing inadequate infrastructure, lack of essential supplies, and insufficient pay as key factors.
The President of the Graduate Nurses Association of Nigeria (GNAN), Mr. Ojo Opeyemi, also expressed concern over the impact of the portal’s closure on their members.
“We are extremely worried. In fact, we had wanted to pursue the case to a logical conclusion because of the excruciating pains on our people and the effects the total lockdown of the portal was having,” he said.
