The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) issued a circular stating that applicants wishing to have their certificates verified by foreign nursing boards and councils must have two years of post-qualification experience. Peter Obi, the Labour Party's presidential candidate in the general election of 2023, has identified with nurses in response to this requirement.
Obi encouraged the NMCN to change the recent student conditions for nursing staff employed abroad, emphasizing that nurses shouldn't be excluded from the global workforce.
“Today, Nigeria has the third most wanted nurses globally. And they should be allowed to see the opportunities that are global for them.
“What we should do as a nation is, since we have these young ones that are productive, and everything is to invest more in the colleges of nursing sciences all over Nigeria in every local government, produce more, ensure that we give them the fastest support to get job globally and become a brand we should celebrate because they are the one that are going to invest in Nigeria.
“Through their remittances and everything we would generate the required foreign exchange for our businesses. So we need to invest more in them. That investment is what is critical
“So please reverse these conditions and support them. And our government should go round and support all the school of nursing, college of nursing that is all over Nigeria.”
