The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) has warned of possible fresh industrial action over the Federal Government’s failure to implement the agreed adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS).
The union said the government had missed the April 2026 implementation deadline contained in the Terms of Settlement signed with the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), following the suspension of its 84-day nationwide strike on February 5, 2026.
MHWUN President, Comrade Kabiru Ado Sani, gave the warning at the union’s 52nd National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, accusing the government of delaying implementation despite the agreement.
He said JOHESU had remained committed to dialogue but warned that its patience should not be mistaken for weakness or abandonment of its demands.
Sani urged the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare and the Minister of Labour and Employment to urgently resolve the outstanding issues to prevent another strike.
He stressed that the February suspension of the strike was based on a signed agreement, not an abandonment of the demands, particularly the CONHESS adjustment, which has remained a major point of contention for 13 years.
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The union is also demanding payment of outstanding arrears owed to members, including workers in non-hospital-based health institutions, and the inauguration of boards of federal health institutions.
On the state of the health sector, Sani criticised inadequate funding, noting that the 2026 Appropriation Act allocated N2.48tn to health, representing less than five per cent of the national budget, far below Nigeria’s 15 per cent commitment under the Abuja Declaration.
He also raised concerns over the migration of healthcare professionals, citing figures indicating that only about 55,000 of more than 130,000 registered Nigerian doctors were practising in the country, while over 57,000 nurses had reportedly left within five years.
He attributed the trend to poor welfare, inadequate funding, mismanagement and unsafe working conditions.
Sani further called for improved workers’ welfare, renegotiation of the national minimum wage and palliatives to cushion the impact of rising living costs.
Although headline inflation declined to 14.63 per cent in September 2026 from 20.98 per cent a year earlier, he said the reduction had not translated into lower prices of essential commodities.
The union president also urged health workers to participate actively in the 2027 general elections while maintaining political neutrality.
He warned that any incoming administration would inherit the outstanding CONHESS agreement, unpaid arrears and unresolved negotiations, insisting that agreements signed by the Federal Government remained binding obligations of the state regardless of leadership changes.
