SUNTV Global Channel | Lagos | December 31, 2025
Nurses working under the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCB) have raised serious concerns over what they describe as years of stagnation, unfair treatment, poor welfare and acute staff shortages across primary health care centres in the state.
The alarm was sounded in a press statement issued on Wednesday by the Elegant Nurses Forum, a professional body representing nurses under the LSPHCB. The group accused the board of subjecting its members to “unfair and demoralising conditions” that have hindered career growth, damaged morale and weakened the delivery of quality healthcare to millions of Lagos residents.
According to the forum, many nurses have remained on the same grade levels for years despite possessing the required qualifications, experience and length of service. Some, it added, have not been placed on their “rightful and lawful positions,” in clear violation of existing civil service guidelines.
The nurses recalled that a government circular approving the proper placement of degree-holding nurses was issued several years ago. While nurses under the Lagos State Health Service Commission (LSHSC) reportedly benefited from the directive through automatic promotion and correct placement, their counterparts under the Primary Health Care Board were allegedly excluded.
“This disparity has created deep frustration and a sense of injustice among nurses who are at the frontline of healthcare delivery,” the statement said.
Beyond career stagnation, the forum described the staffing situation in Lagos primary health care centres as “alarming.” It noted that the recent recruitment of fewer than 200 nurses across the state was grossly inadequate and failed to address the widening manpower gap.
As a result, available nurses are said to be overworked, overstretched and exposed to burnout, while remaining underpaid and poorly motivated.
The group also lamented poor working conditions, including postings to facilities plagued by dilapidated infrastructure, lack of basic medical equipment, poor security and unsafe environments that endanger both health workers and patients.
Describing the situation as unacceptable and contrary to the Lagos State Government’s commitment to strengthening primary healthcare and achieving universal health coverage, the forum warned that continued neglect of frontline health workers poses a serious threat to public health.
“A healthcare system cannot be strengthened while those at the frontline are neglected, frustrated and treated with disregard,” the statement stressed.
The Elegant Nurses Forum called for the immediate implementation of proper and lawful placement for all qualified nurses, especially degree holders, promotion of all stagnated nurses without delay, and massive recruitment to address the severe shortage of nurses in primary health care centres across the state.
Other demands include improved welfare packages, fair remuneration, payment of outstanding entitlements, urgent rehabilitation of dilapidated facilities and an end to all forms of intimidation, ill treatment and neglect of nurses under the LSPHCB.
The forum urged the Lagos State Government, the Ministry of Health and the Primary Health Care Board to act swiftly and responsibly, describing nurses as “the backbone of primary healthcare.”
The statement, signed by Nurse Thomas Abiodun Olamide, also referenced promotion examinations conducted in November 2025 and approvals granted to nurses under the Health Service Commission and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) between July and August 2025.
According to the group, these developments were communicated to the Lagos State leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), but no concrete action has followed, despite repeated appeals.
The nurses warned that the widening gap in treatment between those under the Health Service Commission and the Primary Health Care Board continues to fuel anger and frustration among frontline healthcare workers in Lagos.
“We will continue to speak out and advocate for justice, dignity and fairness for nurses until these issues are adequately addressed,” the forum declared.
— SUNTV Global Channel
