Tinubu urges to call NMCN Registrar, Abubakar to jettison draconian policies on Nurses & Midwifery Graduates

The Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu on the Health Sector is dangling as a result of the draconian policies being introduced in the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) by the Registrar, Dr. Faruk Abubakar to stifle the profession both within and outside the country. There is palpable fear that if the Registrar is not sacked and is allowed to continue on this trajectory, it will be akin to the former Education Minister, Prof Tahir Mamman’s policy which he encapsulated to increase the level of out of school children by declaring that students under 18 years cannot write JAMB examination, until the current Education minister came and jettison the policy for the students and parents to now have the breath of fresh air, write Tony Nwakaegho, Editor Gentechnews.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) regulates the nursing and midwifery professions in Nigeria and has several functions, including: To ensure that nursing and midwifery education and practice meet high standards; monitors that these standards compare favourably with international standards; maintains professional ethics and etiquette for nurses and midwives; enforces discipline within the nursing and midwifery professions; works to improve healthcare services; organizes workshops, seminars, and training for nurses and midwives; identifies areas for research in nursing and liaises with the Planning, Research and Statistics Department; as well as provides guidelines on policies related to the evaluation of educational programs, assessment of examinations, and the teaching process.

The NMCN was established by government decree in 1979 and re-established as a parastatal in 2004. The NMCN has a Governing Council/Board of 19 members appointed by the Federal Government.

Current happenings in the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria under the leadership of Registrar Dr. Faruk Abubakar have been viewed by parents and stakeholders as a clear pointer that the Registrar is on a mission to stifle and frustrate the yet to be inducted nurses and midwives and those who want to seek greener pasture abroad.

First, Dr. Faruk Abubakar, said he was implementing policies aimed at addressing the significant migration of Nigerian nurses seeking better opportunities abroad—a phenomenon contributing to the country’s healthcare sector challenges and shut down the NMCN portal to prevent the would-be employers abroad from getting access to verify the documents of the Nurses and midwives seeking for jobs or studies abroad.

In August 2023, Dr. Abubakar acknowledged the severe impact of this “brain drain,” noting that Nigeria ranks seventh among 57 countries facing a critical shortage of health workers.

He also emphasized the need for improved facilities, better welfare, adequate insurance, and a conducive working environment to retain nursing professionals within the country.

Gentechnews gathered that it took the intervention of the National Assembly before the Registrar directed that the NMCN portal be formally opened.

The Registrar did not stop at that as according to him, to mitigate the exodus, the NMCN introduced revised guidelines in February 2024 for the verification of certificates for nurses and midwives. These guidelines include a minimum two-month post-qualification experience requirement before verification can be processed. The Council clarified that these measures are not intended to prevent nurses from seeking opportunities abroad but to ensure compliance with professional standards and safeguard the interests of Nigeria’s healthcare sector.

However, these policies have faced criticism from nursing professionals. In March 2024, members of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives staged peaceful protests, expressing concerns that the new guidelines could hinder their career progression and exacerbate existing challenges such as unemployment, quackery, and poor welfare.

The NMCN maintains that its initiatives aim to balance the rights of individual practitioners with the need to maintain a robust healthcare system in Nigeria. The Council continues to engage with stakeholders to address concerns and improve the working conditions of nurses nationwide.

The current situation is taking a spread to institutions of higher learning offering Nursing and midwifery which are 259 nationwide. The qualification for professional nurses and midwives is to graduate from recognised institutions, and pass the NMCN exam to be inducted as a qualified nurse and midwife.

The Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma Nursing Sciences graduates who have been held back by their school result in 2018 set but have since passed their professional exam with NMCN now have their AAU results and while waiting for the induction, the 2019 set of graduates, who have also passed the NMCN exam and waiting for induction are staying at their homes waiting for the NMCN induction to enable them commence their internships.

Gentechnews gathered that these two sets of graduates for Nursing Sciences have passed the NMCN exam and are only waiting for a one-day induction ceremony from the Council. The graduates have already paid the prescribed fees for their NMCN certificates and submitted their passports for about three months now, yet there is no information as to why a combined induction ceremony has not been held as done in institution convocation to clear these two set of graduates from AAU Ekpoma who have passed the NMCN exam to enable them to commence their one-year internship and then proceed for NYSC programme.

Gentechnews sent messages to the Registrar of NMCN to know why the AAU Ekpoma induction has not taken place, but always got an auto response from the council that they will respond soon without any response. This issue has also been referred to SERVICOM to know why a parastatal like NMCN will put its email messages link on auto response for months without any action taken.

Stakeholders in the Health Sector are unanimous to say that the failure of the Registrar still delaying the induction of the AAU Ekpoma nursing sciences graduates is a clear testimony that his argument that he wants to prevent the would-be employees from going abroad does not hold sway because the graduates at home like the AAU Ekpoma are begging to be inducted into the Council.

The Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria should be reminded that age is not on the side of the AAU Ekpoma graduates who have secured their school results after many years of waiting and the current set of graduates who by the intervention of the current AAU management team have received their results. These graduates will commence one year internship, then proceed for one-year NYSC before going into the labour market where employability age is always pegged between 25years and 26 years.

Gentechnews is of the view that President Tinubu and the Minister of Health, Dr Mohammad Alli Pate should call the Registrar of NMCN to order by directing him to organise the combined induction for the two set of graduates who have passed the NMCN exam immediately to enable these graduates commence their internship and help to boost the health sector as well as the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration of President Bola Tinubu. The time to act is now!