Oyo health sector crisis deepens as LAUTECH nurses threaten strike

The health sector in Oyo State may soon face fresh disruptions as nurses and midwives at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, have issued a 15-day ultimatum to the hospital management over alleged neglect of their welfare and conditions of service.

The workers, under the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), accused the management of sidelining them whenever new benefits were approved for health workers in the state.

They pointed out that while their counterparts in other state-owned facilities had begun enjoying the new national minimum wage, LAUTECH staff were left behind.

In a joint statement signed by the Unit Chairman, Ojewumi Olutayo, and Secretary, Adedokun Foluwake, the association listed unpaid promotion arrears from 2018 to 2024, delayed COVID-19 and hazard allowances, as well as severe staff shortages as issues fueling low morale among workers.

“Our demands include immediate implementation of the new national minimum wage effective from January 2025, payment of promotion arrears, recruitment of additional nurses, and proper renovation of nurses’ stations and rooms.”

“The situation has become unbearable, and if nothing is done before the expiration of our ultimatum, we will have no option but to embark on strike,” the statement read.

The association warned that an industrial action at LAUTECH, which serves as the only state-owned tertiary hospital and referral center for patients from Ogbomoso, Oyo, Iseyin, Okeho, Igbeti, Saki, Kisi, Otta, and neighboring parts of Osun and Kwara States, would disrupt healthcare access for thousands of residents.

“The impact will be felt most by pregnant women, children, accident victims, and patients requiring emergency interventions,” the nurses cautioned, calling on Governor Seyi Makinde to personally intervene.