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| Peter Obi with Bishop Jonas Benson Okoye, proprietor of the College of Nursing and the Catholic Bishop of Nnewi Diocese on the occasion |
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has called on the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) to reconsider their recently updated guidelines for nurses' verification.
The revised guidelines require applicants seeking verification of certificates to foreign nursing boards and councils to have two years of post-qualification experience in Nigeria before they can practice abroad.
Mr. Obi advised the NMCN not to hinder nurses who desire to 'Japa' (leave Nigeria) to other countries for better opportunities. He also advocated for Nigerian nurses to have access to the international job market.
Obi urged the NMCN to consider reversing their recently updated guidelines for nurses' verification.
He appealed to them not to impede nurses from seeking global opportunities with stringent measures.
He told the NMCN that earlier released revised guidelines for verifying nurses migrating abroad are widely seen as an attempt to discourage nurse migration from Nigeria.
The former Anambra state governor, who has been an ardent supporter of Nursing and other health practitioner's education in the country bared his mind during his visit to the College of Nursing Sciences at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala, where he donated N20 million for healthcare professional training.
According to a press statement issued by his media aide, Michael Jude Nwolisa, the LP leader emphasized the importance of enabling Nigerian nurses to access better global opportunities.
"We should facilitate our nurses in maximizing their skills, globally, by implementing measures that grant them increased access to global opportunities. Nigerian nurses are highly sought after worldwide. By migrating and gaining international skills and experiences, they reinvest the same into our health sector for more growth," said Obi.
Presenting a cheque of N20 million to the Proprietor of the College of Nursing Sciences, Most Rev Jonas Benson Okoye, Obi reiterated his commitment to investing in critical areas of development, which healthcare is number one and the healthcare worker is the front liner of this critical value chain component.
"Recent studies project a shortage of several million nurses globally by 2030, of which Nigeria is a part. With this fore-knowledge, we should invest more aggressively in training more nurses and establishment of nursing schools nationwide to meet the global market and demand, addressing the shortage," Obi stated.
He emphasized that besides acquiring international exposure and experiences, these healthcare professionals would contribute substantial foreign remittances, which already exceed that of the oil revenue.
Obi urged the NMCN to reconsider and reverse their stringent measures, ensuring Nigerian nurses receive their verifications promptly, as previously done.
It would be recalled that nurses in Lagos have protested against the verification guidelines released by the NMCN.
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