Why Are Nigerian Nurses Being Forced to Do Cleaners’ Jobs? Are Hospital CMDs Exploiting Strikes to Intimidate Health Workers Across the Country?
A growing controversy is shaking Nigeria’s healthcare sector after the Elegant Nurses Forum accused hospital managements across the country of forcing nurses to perform cleaning and other menial duties, a practice the group describes as unethical, unlawful, and professionally degrading.
In a press statement signed by Nurse Thomas Abiodun Olamide, the forum said it had received multiple complaints from health institutions nationwide, alleging that some Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) are exploiting the ongoing strike by hospital cleaners under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) to compel nurses to take over sanitation work.
According to the forum, this practice violates professional ethics, international best practices, and the legal framework governing nursing in Nigeria. It warned that compelling nurses to abandon clinical responsibilities for cleaning duties not only demeans the profession but also endangers patient safety and healthcare quality.
The group disclosed that over ten days ago, nurses at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Makurdi, Benue State, formally complained of threats and coercion to assume cleaners’ duties. Similar complaints were later received from the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, Ogun State, along with reports from other tertiary and secondary health facilities nationwide.
The forum expressed particular concern over the leadership at OOUTH, alleging a persistent pattern of intimidation and harassment of nurses by the hospital’s CMD. According to the statement, nurses were reportedly threatened with job loss, with allegations that political connections were being used to exert pressure. The forum described this as a gross abuse of office, questioning the competence, temperament, and ethical standing of such leadership.
It further alleged that political interference rather than merit has influenced some CMD appointments, warning that hospitals were being transformed into “tools of oppression” instead of institutions dedicated to patient-centred care.
Emphasising the professional role of nurses, the forum stated that nurses are trained healthcare practitioners whose duties include patient care, disease prevention, health promotion, and clinical management—not sanitation. Forcing them into menial tasks, it said, devalues their expertise, undermines healthcare delivery, and weakens the entire system.
In its demands, the Elegant Nurses Forum called for:
Immediate cessation of all intimidation, threats, and coercion of nurses into non-nursing duties;
Clear directives from federal and state health ministries prohibiting the assignment of cleaning or other unrelated tasks to nurses;
Independent investigations and disciplinary action against erring CMDs and administrators;
Protection of nurses from victimisation and harassment; and
Transparent, merit-based appointments to hospital leadership positions free from political interference.
The forum vowed it would not remain silent while nurses are treated as expendable labour and stripped of their professional identity. “Healthcare leadership must be about service, competence, and accountability—not intimidation, arrogance, and abuse of power,” the statement concluded.
As the allegations spread across multiple states, the central question remains: are hospital authorities protecting patient care—or sacrificing professionalism for power?
Why Are Nigerian Nurses Being Forced to Do Cleaners’ Jobs? Are Hospital CMDs Exploiting Strikes to Intimidate Health Workers Across the Country?
A growing controversy is shaking Nigeria’s healthcare sector after the Elegant Nurses Forum accused hospital managements across the country of forcing nurses to perform cleaning and other menial duties, a practice the group describes as unethical, unlawful, and professionally degrading.
In a press statement signed by Nurse Thomas Abiodun Olamide, the forum said it had received multiple complaints from health institutions nationwide, alleging that some Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) are exploiting the ongoing strike by hospital cleaners under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) to compel nurses to take over sanitation work.
According to the forum, this practice violates professional ethics, international best practices, and the legal framework governing nursing in Nigeria. It warned that compelling nurses to abandon clinical responsibilities for cleaning duties not only demeans the profession but also endangers patient safety and healthcare quality.
The group disclosed that over ten days ago, nurses at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Makurdi, Benue State, formally complained of threats and coercion to assume cleaners’ duties. Similar complaints were later received from the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, Ogun State, along with reports from other tertiary and secondary health facilities nationwide.
The forum expressed particular concern over the leadership at OOUTH, alleging a persistent pattern of intimidation and harassment of nurses by the hospital’s CMD. According to the statement, nurses were reportedly threatened with job loss, with allegations that political connections were being used to exert pressure. The forum described this as a gross abuse of office, questioning the competence, temperament, and ethical standing of such leadership.
It further alleged that political interference rather than merit has influenced some CMD appointments, warning that hospitals were being transformed into “tools of oppression” instead of institutions dedicated to patient-centred care.
Emphasising the professional role of nurses, the forum stated that nurses are trained healthcare practitioners whose duties include patient care, disease prevention, health promotion, and clinical management—not sanitation. Forcing them into menial tasks, it said, devalues their expertise, undermines healthcare delivery, and weakens the entire system.
In its demands, the Elegant Nurses Forum called for:
Immediate cessation of all intimidation, threats, and coercion of nurses into non-nursing duties;
Clear directives from federal and state health ministries prohibiting the assignment of cleaning or other unrelated tasks to nurses;
Independent investigations and disciplinary action against erring CMDs and administrators;
Protection of nurses from victimisation and harassment; and
Transparent, merit-based appointments to hospital leadership positions free from political interference.
The forum vowed it would not remain silent while nurses are treated as expendable labour and stripped of their professional identity. “Healthcare leadership must be about service, competence, and accountability—not intimidation, arrogance, and abuse of power,” the statement concluded.
As the allegations spread across multiple states, the central question remains: are hospital authorities protecting patient care—or sacrificing professionalism for power?
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