The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has finally suspended their nationwide strike.
There was a claim by the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, on Friday that the striking nurses had ended the strike, which was quickly refuted by their association.
Nurses and midwives in the country began a seven-day warning strike over unmet demands on Wednesday, which was suspended after four days.
The nurses were demanding an upward review of shift allowance, adjustment of uniform allowance, a separate salary structure for nurses, an increase in core duty allowance, and mass recruitment of nurses, among others.
The association’s leaders met with the Federal Government team to find a lasting solution to the dispute on Friday.
Those at the meeting were the officials from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Office of the Head of Service, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the National Salaries and Wages Commission, and other stakeholders.
The association’s Assistant Secretary-General, Chidi Aligwe, confirmed the news to journalists on Saturday in Abuja.
He said the strike was suspended at the end of NANNM’s National Executive Council meeting held earlier in the day.
“The warning strike has been suspended. Nurses and midwives are to resume work immediately,” Aligwe stated.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
