The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has accused the government of intentionally neglecting the health sector. The union recently alleged that the FG is deliberately frustrating health workers through poor welfare, unpaid entitlements and broken promises.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 51st Regular National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, in Abuja, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said that the government’s attitude towards public healthcare and the welfare of medical workers is lackadaisical.
According to him, the government clearly prefers foreign hospitals over building a functional domestic system capable of serving Nigerians effectively.
Lamenting that the nation’s health sector deterioration is not by accident, he stated that the current neglect is proof of a system that prioritises profit over people.
“Our health sector continues to bleed. It is not an accident; it is a direct result of a system that prioritises profit over people, that sees healthcare as a commodity and health workers as disposable instruments. You, the frontline workers in every pandemic — the pharmacists, the laboratory scientists, the porters — you are the lifeblood of this nation’s well-being, yet you are forced to work in conditions that sicken the very spirit of healing.
You are overworked, underpaid, and disrespected. You face unimaginable trauma daily, only to be met with empty promises and a blatant disregard for your welfare. This is a calculated assault designed to break your will and privatise the commonwealth of our public health system. You have suffered severely from the unfaithfulness of the government to negotiated agreements because premium is not placed on the services that you render. Maybe, out of guilt, they prefer to die abroad!” he said.
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Ajaero further noted that health workers remain the soul of Nigeria’s survival, stressing that if any worker is treated unjustly, the entire working class are well within their rights to feel devalued.
He concluded by calling for a united front among all health sector unions to push for enhanced working conditions and proper funding of public health institutions.
“When you are forced to operate in a state of despair, you have only two choices, as the great Karl Marx identified: to withdraw your labour or to become more committed to the struggle.
Withdrawal is not just a strike; it is the quiet despair that leads to burnout, to brain drain, to a slow death of the system. But commitment — the commitment you show by being here today — is the fuel of radical change. It is the resolve to organise, to mobilise, and to fight back against the unjust treatments in our hospitals and health institutions across the nation.
Our solutions must therefore be as radical as the problems we face. We must unite and broaden the struggle; forge an unbreakable alliance with all health sector unions. Your strength is in your unity. A joint struggle across the entire health sector is invincible. JOHESU must be reinvigorated by bringing all unions on board.
This NEC meeting should not be a talk shop; it should be a situation room. The decisions you make here must resonate in the halls of power and on the floors of every hospital in Nigeria. Do not let them pacify you with tokens; demand a fundamental restructuring of the health sector. Demand living wages, safe working conditions, and adequate funding for public health. If not — Japa!
We must move beyond begging the bosses to becoming the architects of our own destiny.
Your President and Deputy President of Congress, Comrade Ado Sani and his General Secretary, Comrade Kiyawa, have continued to represent you well. We doff our hats to them! The NLC stands shoulder to shoulder with you. Your fight is our fight. Together, we will heal the healers, and in doing so, we will begin to heal our nation,” he added.
