Nurses protest new certificate verification guidelines in Abuja

The Nigeria and Midwifery Council of Nigeria's new verification certification requirements sparked a protest on Monday by nurses operating under the auspices of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Abuja branch.

The nurses asked the council to address issues related to nurses' welfare, wage scale, staffing scarcity, and other rights, expressing their dissatisfaction over what they perceived as an attempt to restrict their ability to seek career prospects.

The demonstration that our correspondent observed took place at the NMCN headquarters in Abuja.

On February 7, 2024, the NMCN published a circular updating the procedures for obtaining certification verification for midwives and nurses.

The PUNCH revealed that the verification portal on the NMCN website had been inactive since December 2023, prompting the issuing of the council's directive.

A non-refundable cost per application should be paid for verification to foreign boards of nursing as mentioned on the portal, according to a portion of the circular signed by Dr. Faruk Abubakar, the council's registrar. This will pay for the expense of courier services to the applicant's job, overseas board, and training facility.

“Eligible applicants must have a minimum of two years post qualification experience from the date of issuance of the permanent practicing licence. Any application with a provisional licence shall be rejected outright.

“The council shall request a letter of good standing from the chief executive officer of the applicant’s place(s) of work and the last nursing training institution attended and responses on these shall be addressed directly to the Registrar/CEO, NMCN. Please note that the council shall not accept such letter(s) through the applicant.”

The council further said that processing verification applications would need a minimum of six months and that applicants must have valid practicing licences with at least six months remaining on their expiration date.

It further stated that the guidelines will be put into force on March 1, 2024.

Source