LIVE UPDATES
The sudden deactivation of the verification portal by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria in February has plunged countless Nigerian nurses and midwives working abroad into turmoil.
Currently, healthcare workers are encountering hurdles in renewing their licences and meeting the regulatory requirements set by international bodies.
Already, some nurses without the necessary verification from the NMCN find themselves in violation of visa conditions and employment laws, resulting in legal consequences.
It was gathered on Saturday that many nurses abroad, including United Kingdom and United States, had been forced to return to the country over the issue.
President of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Michael Nnachi, said the group had engaged the government on several demands, including the reopening of the portal.
He noted that a committee was recently formed to review ongoing discussions.
The Deputy National President of the association, Abubakar Shehu, expressed displeasure over the delay in activating the verification portal.
He said, “There are lots of intricacies in the issue of this portal, and we are not happy, honestly speaking. We are not the only health professionals migrating from Nigeria to other countries. Doctors, pharmacists, and lab scientists are leaving, so why only nurses?
“We have held a series of meetings with the Registrar of NMCN; we went to the Ministry of Health and met with the Minister of Health. He was told that we are the critical stakeholders and they were supposed to have engaged us before even deciding to close the portal. You were meant to engage us so that we could sit down and discuss. We have a lot of nurses and midwives outside the labour market and they are not employed. You didn’t give somebody employment and you don’t want to allow the person to move to another place for greener pastures. It’s not done like that.”
Shehu, however, said the NMCN registrar recently promised that the portal would be opened soon.
“The registrar has assured us that the portal will be opened. So, we are waiting to see. He gave the assurance last week,” he added.
