Nigerian nurses and other health workers have kicked against the conditions imposed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) on all applicants seeking verification of certificate(s) to foreign nursing boards or councils.
The Council in a memo dated February 7, 2024, outlined what it called the revised guidelines and requirements to be met by all applicants seeking the verification of certificate(s) to foreign nursing boards/councils.
The Council in the memo signed by its Registrar/CEO, Dr. Faruk Umar Abubakar, said, “Applicants are to visit https://licence.men.gov.ng/ and log in to initiate verification application by clicking on the verification application link. “A non-refundable fee per application shall be paid for verification to Foreign Boards of Nursing as specified on the portal. This shall cover the cost of courier services to the applicant’s institution(s) of training, place of work and Foreign Board. “Eligible applicants must have a minimum of two (2) years post qualification experience from the date of issuance of permanent practicing licence. Any application with provisional licence shall be rejected outrightly.
This new development has raised concerns among practicing health workers who have started calling for the decision to be reversed.
A source released a letter sent to the tech company handling the health workers’ portal to effect the changes without informing the active users.
“The letter above was the letter NMCN sent to the tech company handling the portal but didn’t inform the end users (Nurses) before closure. We have demanded explanation, NMCN has refused to say anything till date”, the source revealed.