Nurses and midwives at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo State, have issued a 15-day ultimatum to the hospital’s management, citing prolonged neglect of their welfare and poor working conditions.
The staff, under the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), LAUTECH chapter, accused the management of consistently excluding them from state-approved benefits for health workers.
In a statement jointly signed by Unit Chairman Ojewumi Olutayo and Unit Secretary Adedokun Foluwake, the association lamented that while nurses in other state-owned facilities had started receiving the revised national minimum wage, LAUTECH nurses remain sidelined.
They also highlighted issues such as the delayed payment of COVID-19 and hazard allowances, which they said have led to growing economic hardship and declining morale among staff.
Their demands include:
* Immediate implementation of the new minimum wage (retroactive from January 2025)
* Payment of promotion arrears from 2018 to 2024
* Recruitment of additional nurses to address manpower shortages
* Renovation and proper furnishing of nurses’ stations and rooms
Describing the current situation as unbearable, the association warned of an imminent strike if their demands are not met within the given timeframe.
They stressed that a strike would paralyze operations at the hospital—the only state-owned tertiary health institution and referral centre serving patients from Ogbomoso, Oyo, Iseyin, Okeho, Saki, Igbeti, Kisi, Otta, and parts of Osun and Kwara States.
“The consequences will be dire, especially for pregnant women, children, accident victims, and patients needing emergency care,” the statement read.
The association appealed directly to Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene, urging him to address what they described as systemic exclusion that has demoralised nurses at LAUTECH.
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Their ultimatum underscores the broader labour challenges facing Nigeria’s health sector, where wage disputes and poor conditions remain persistent. Despite Oyo State’s rollout of welfare packages for health workers, LAUTECH staff insist they have repeatedly been left out.
