The newly elected Chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), FCT Council, Mr Jama Medan, has promised to push for the interest of its members at the federal and state levels.
Addressing newsmen on Sunday, after taking the oath of office on Saturday, Medan said he will ensure better remuneration for nurses and midwives as they have been collapsing on duty because of the workload and falling sick for one reason or the other.
In the election, Medan polled 46 votes to beat Talatu Magam, who got 39 votes from the total 89 voters/delegates accredited to participate in the election.
The event was monitored and supervised by the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress and a National Auditor of NANNM.
He said: “Now that I have won the election, struggle continues until victory is achieved. The truth is that there are a lot of expectations from us, we will continue to struggle for our people.
“In the whole of FCT hospital facilities, there is gross shortage of manpower, many nurses have left the country and there has not been a major employment to replace them.
“This is one area we will push for. Our nurses have been collapsing on duty because of the workload, falling sick for one reason or the other because of the pressure of the work, so these are some of the challenges.
“The current economic reality is hitting harder; if you observe, you will find out that monthly salaries paid to workets, goes into transportation. A bag of rice now which cannot adequately feed a family of four is above N50,000.
“The salary is just a meagre something. Looking at the high cost of rent, transportation and feeding, we will agitate for a change; salary should be reviewed immediately.
“Unions are not formed to relax at the Secretariat but to fight for interest and welfare of members; our major agenda for this new executive is to fight for the rights of the nurses and improve their lives.”
Medan also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to consider nurses in his appointments as a follow-up to the earlier appeal in July by the immediate past Chairman of the council, Deborah Yusuf.
According to him, nurses constitute the largest workforce in the FCT, and that it will be a thing of joy if the nursing profession is considered in the president’s appointments.
“I am joining my voice to the appeal earlier made; the present government should please consider nurses and look at their contributions, especially during the COVID-19 era,” he said.
Medan said that nurses stood out to help people during the COVID-19, saved the lives of Nigerians, and they were celebrated within and at the National Assembly, to the extent of giving the FCT nurses a standing ovation at the NASS.
He described the election as a very peaceful one in the history of the association, and that it was the most keenly contested nurses election in the FCT.
The elected treasurer, Mr Olaniyi Filade, also appreciated God for giving him victory in the election, describing it as the most keenly contested election between him and his opponent.
According to him, it is the will of God that prevailed, the exercise is beyond human comprehension, looking at how the election was keenly contested.
He said that there were a lot of permutations, calculations, adding that before the election, people guessed who would win the election but God intervened.
“My greatest surprise which I sincerely appreciate was that even my opponent that contested with me was the first person to congratulate me, he did that even when the result had not been announced.
“Congratulating me first by my opponent shows the spirit of sportsmanship. It shows we are not in a race to fight, when we saw after the result was announced, we were the first to embrace each other and this really shows that the love is there.
“This is a unifying factor that we are all nurses. After this election, the relationship will be much more stronger than it was before the election,” he said.
There are other offices that were won such as Vice-chairman, Financial Secretary, Public Relations Officer, Auditors One and Two in the election.
