Reports reaching us here at Nursingworld Nigeria from a confidential source states that a national delegation of members from the National Association of Nigerian Nurses And Midwives is currently in Gombe State with the aim of resolving the issue of the FTH Gombe Nurses who recently withdrew from the National body.

 

It has been reliably gathered that about 10 national officers are currently in Gombe to meet the aggrieved group.

 

The report also states that the leadership of the breakaway group of nurses have been invited for the meeting sheduled for today the 29th of December 2016

 

You would recall that In the letter dated 31st October 2016 the Nurses informed the management of the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe State of their voluntary withdrawal of financial contributions to NANNM.

 

Gombe Federal Teaching Hospital Nurses Withdraw From NANNM, Write Management 

 

They had also requested that further deductions from their monthly salaries be discontinued from November 2016.

 

Reasons for their withdrawal include the following and more:

1. The removal of teaching allowance since 2014 without NANNM making any efforts to correct this.

2. Lack of Transparency, Fraud and lack of empathy to the plight of junior Nurses in the FHI

3. Why Nurses keep on paying such exhobitant dues to their National bodies without any significant impact.

4. Lack of financial accountability

 

An update was also given in a publication sent in to us at nursingworld with a breakdown of their reasons and grieviances which include amongst others:

 

(a) Teaching Allowance

It could be recalled that since April 2014, nursing officers who are on CONHESS 7&8 has been denied their legitimate teaching allowance despite its presence in the 2009 consolidated health salary structure. Since the stoppage of this allowance, no effort has been made by NANNM at te national level to restore it. This iLicences never been any priority to NANNM even in their national meetings probably because it doesn't affect most senior nurses.

 

(b) Membership

It may interest most nurses especially those working in the federal institution that they are legally not members of NANNM simply because of the following reasons;

I) the constitution of NANNM stated that an individual who qualify as a registered Nurse and has been enrolled into the register of Nursing and Midwifery council of Nigeria is eligible for membership of NANNM

ii) that the membership of NANNM shall be open to all Nurses (meaning it is optional)

iii) It requires that an individual who wish to associate with NANNM must apply by filling a specified form which shall be approved by the NANNM approved body at the Secretariat

iv) After approval of membership, that individual is required to pay a certain dues to sustain his/her membership.

v) The registered person is entitle to a copy of NANNM constitution, membership card and registration number.

 

Unfortunately, all this procedures are not usually followed by NANNM and nurses are charged monthly dues once they are employed by the government without actually enrolling them into the NANNM nominal register. Nurse erroneously start paying dues without membership registration and without accountability and transparency. This is a fraud, it is illegal and most be urgently discontinued with immidiate effect. It is currently going on in many institutions that is why we requested for immediate stoppage of any deductions from our salaries.

 

We keenly wish NANNM will explain to Nigeria Nurses why they have been collecting a huge percentage of dues from various branches without even knowing the actual number of people enrolled as members. If NANNM is aware that many people paying dues to them are not enrolled on the nomical register why have they not corrected this for all this years? Is that not a fraud or a scam practice?

 

Update: Withdrawal Of FTH Gombe Nurses From NANNM 

 

It is not yet clear if the group of young nurses at FTH Gombe would suçumb to the plea of the national delegation until after the meeting is done and dusted.

 

Updates to follow