The House of Representatives on Tuesday, February 27, has instructed the Nurses and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) to immediately stop the implementation of the certificate verification guidelines for nurses slated to commence on Thursday, March 1, 2024.
In response to a motion of urgent public importance initiated by Patrick Umoh (APC, Akwa Ibom), the House mandated its committee on Health Institutions to investigate the issue and present findings to the House.
Moving the motion, Umoh informed that the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, in a memo dated February 7, put in place fresh guidelines for the verification of certificates of practicing nurses in the country.
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The legislator highlighted that the enactment of the Nursing and Midwifery (Registration, etc.) Act, Cap. N143, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, by the National Assembly aimed to establish regulations and oversight for the practice of nursing and midwifery in the country.
He noted that the council has recently released updated guidelines for certificate verification, dated February 7, 2024, with an effective date of March 1, 2024.
He elaborated that the guidelines require verification applicants to possess a minimum of two years of post-qualification experience from the date of receiving their permanent practice license. Additionally, applicants must secure a letter of good standing from both the Chief Executive Officer of their workplace and the last educational institution attended. Furthermore, the application processing period is set at a minimum of six months.
He further explained that there have been objections, demonstrations, and strong resistance against the enforcement of the updated guidelines by healthcare practitioners, spearheaded by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives.
He said: “Verification of certificates is to confirm and authenticate an already existing certificate issued by the Nursing and Midwifery Council; therefore, the requirement for two years post-qualification experience before verification of certificate is unreasonable, arbitrary and unfair, as it may, among other things, restrict the freedom of nurses seeking education or additional skills and training in foreign universities.
“The National Assembly is the body empowered by the Constitution to make laws for the country, and the requirement of two years post-qualification experience by the Nursing and Midwifery Council is to legislate through the back door, and therefore a usurpation of the powers of the National Assembly.
“The requirement that applicants for verification must obtain a letter of good standing from the Chief Executive Officer of the applicant’s place of work is capable of creating forced labour and modern slavery as the applicant will be forced to be subject to the whims and caprices of applicant’s employer.”
