Closed laboratories, pharmacies disrupt services as Nigerian health workers continue strike

(By Mariam Ileyemi, Saviour Imukudo, Manasseh Mbachii, Aisha Yesufu, Anas Dansalma, Zainab Adewale and Oluwakemi Adelagun)

Hospitals across Nigeria are grappling with severe disruptions as the indefinite strike by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) continues into its third month, forcing patients to seek laboratory tests, drugs and other essential services outside public health facilities.

Visits by PREMIUM TIMES reporters to hospitals in Akwa Ibom, Benue, Kaduna, Kano, Abuja and Lagos states show a health system running on skeletal services, with key departments shut and overstretched doctors and nurses struggling to fill gaps left by striking health workers.

The impact of the strike may deepen further after the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Friday issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, warning of a nationwide shutdown over the government’s failure to implement the adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for health workers.

In a joint statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, the labour unions accused the ministry and other government agencies of deliberately refusing to implement the report of a technical committee set up to address salary distortions in the health sector.

They warned that failure to comply would trigger mass protests, picketing of health institutions and government offices, and a nationwide withdrawal of services across both public and private sectors.

Skeletal services in Akwa Ibom

At the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) in Akwa Ibom State, PREMIUM TIMES observed that only skeletal services were being provided. Key departments such as the pharmacy, laboratory, and radiology units were shut down, although doctors and nurses continued to attend to patients in the outpatient department.

Patients were, however, left to source drugs and laboratory services outside the hospital.

“They wrote the drugs for me, but I had to buy everything outside,” an elderly patient told PREMIUM TIMES, lamenting the stress of walking long distances despite his health condition.

At the Accident and Emergency Unit, Idoreyin Akpan said she had just returned from a private pharmacy after being informed that no pharmacist was on duty at the hospital.

“The doctor wrote tests and drugs for me. There’s nobody to dispense them here,” she said in Ibibio, explaining that she was directed to a private pharmacy several metres away.

A hospital staff member, who requested anonymity, blamed the disruption on the federal government’s failure to honour agreements reached with JOHESU.

“The government failed to honour agreements reached with JOHESU. That is the problem,” he said, adding that poor remuneration had left health workers struggling despite decades of service.

He, however, commended doctors for accepting laboratory results and drugs obtained outside the facility to ensure patients continued receiving care.

Locked units in Benue

At the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Makurdi, Benue State, the strike has led to widespread service disruption. PREMIUM TIMES observed low patient turnout, with several critical units, including the microbiology laboratory and labour room, under lock.

A patient identified as Lizzy said she was stranded after being referred for laboratory tests.

“The doctor saw me and asked me to do some tests. When I got to the FMC laboratory, it was locked. I had to go outside to do the test. When I returned, the doctor who attended to me was no longer on seat,” she said, adding that she had waited for hours.

A doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the strike had overstretched the few available staff.

“We are now attending to almost everyone in the hospital. It is not supposed to be like this,” he said. Another visitor, Muhammad Abdullahi, said he had transferred his diabetic mother to a private hospital due to delays.

“We were not attended to on time, and even when they tried, the services were poor. I feared for my mother’s life,” he said, noting that he only returned to FMC to obtain a doctor’s report.

Efforts to get the hospital’s response were unsuccessful. An administrative officer, David Abakume, said he was not in a position to comment and advised PREMIUM TIMES to contact the Chief Medical Director.

The CMD, Joseph Kortor, was not in his office during the visit, and repeated calls to his phone did not connect.

Strained operations in Zaria

At the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria, skeletal services continue, though operations remain strained. A nurse at the General Outpatient Department said record-keeping had become difficult because the records office was closed.

“The record office has casual staff that only open new folders to new patients, so what we do here is to record patients’ progress ourselves since we can’t access the records office and also not to miss any information about the patient’s progress.”

She added that cleaning services had been affected, while the closure of laboratories had increased costs for patients who now rely on private facilities.

She also said the laboratory where all tests are done is closed as a result of the strike, and it is negatively affecting patients financially and delaying the work of nurses and doctors.

“If the lab were working, patients would pay less,” she said.

A pharmacist at the hospital said the pharmacy was still operating, while some patients said the impact of the strike was less noticeable in their units. The JOHESU chairman at ABUTH, Saka Tofik-Olayinka, said management was enforcing a ‘no work, no pay’ policy to compel workers to resume duties.

“The number of workers offering skeletal services has reduced,” Mr Tofik-Olayinka said, insisting that the policy would not stop workers from demanding their rights.

Delays, low turnout in Kano

In Kano State, PREMIUM TIMES visited the National Orthopaedics Hospital, Dala, and the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH).

At the orthopaedic hospital, patient turnout was low despite the presence of doctors and nurses. A staff member said most operational units were being managed by non-union members and casual workers.

An elderly patient expressed frustration over the disruption despite having seen a doctor.

“Yes, I came to see a doctor. I was asked to go and have my leg X-rayed. But when I got to the radiology unit, an attendant told me to go outside the hospital for the service,” he said, adding that “the people there are on strike.”

“I was confused,” the elderly man said. “You can see how I am walking. It is painful that I have to go somewhere else.”

The JOHESU chairman at the hospital, Shehu Adamu, confirmed that all union members were on strike, adding that those still working were not union members.

“All members of our union – medical laboratory scientists, pharmacists, radiographers, accounts and administrative staff, are on strike,” he said.

However, he explained that some operations are still ongoing because some staff have chosen not join the union. So, they are not being forced to join the strike since they are not members.

“You know we have freedom of association. Anyone you see working is not a member of our union,” he said, adding that “there are also some casual staff and interns who are still working.”

At AKTH, doctors were present in some units, but patients experienced delays. PREMIUM TIMES observed long queues at payment points, apparently due to staff shortages. At the General Outpatient Department, doctors were present, but there were no patients at the time of the visit.

A security guard at the department said most patients arrive early in the morning and leave before noon.

“I think it has to do with the strike. But doctors are always around,” he said.

PREMIUM TIMES contacted the hospital’s Information Department for comments. The acting Director of Information, Hajiya Maryam, said she would assign someone to explain the measures being taken to minimise the impact of the strike on health services on her behalf. However, as of the time of filing this report, she had not yet responded.

Patients bear the burden in Lagos

In Lagos, patients at Alimosho and Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospitals were directed outside hospital premises for laboratory tests and drugs.

Pregnant women lamented the closure of laboratories and pharmacies, forcing them to pay for services that were previously part of antenatal care.

Ezeanyim Chikodii, who began her antenatal care at Alimosho in November, said she has repeatedly been referred outside the hospital to obtain routine antenatal drugs and conduct laboratory tests.

PREMIUM TIMES observed that the hospital’s main laboratory, as well as laboratories at the paediatric and maternity centres, were shut. Pharmacies at the General Outpatient Department, paediatric and maternity sections were also under lock, leaving patients with no option but to seek services elsewhere.

“The lab is open. I went to the lab for a test, and I’m here waiting for my test result,” Madam Abiola said, referring to a private laboratory she had been directed to after discovering the hospital lab was not functioning.

A pharmacist at the hospital, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed that the pharmacy was not fully operational. “We sometimes attend to patients in emergencies, especially when nurses direct them here to get drugs that might be difficult to get outside,” he said.

Michael Olusegun, a laboratory scientist in the private sector who visited the hospital for consultation, said he had to carry out all prescribed tests outside the facility.

At Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital, the disruption extended beyond laboratory and pharmacy services. Bisola Jamiu, who was receiving antenatal care, lamented the continued use of notebooks for patient records, following the shutdown of the records department.

Ms Jamiu said that after the stress of registering for antenatal care and transitioning to digital records, the strike had forced a return to manual documentation, making it difficult for patients to locate their records and slowing down service delivery.

“The pharmacy is also locked, and medications we are supposed to receive from the hospital are not available,” she added.

She explained that she had taken only one dose of Fansidar for malaria prevention before the strike began, adding that since the industrial action started, she has repeatedly been asked to buy the remaining doses outside the hospital, despite the drugs being part of the antenatal care package.

The Secretary of the Lagos State Council of JOHESU, Adegboyega Kabiawu, in a recent interview with PREMIUM TIMES, said the union remained open to suspending the strike if the government presented a clear memorandum on implementing its demands.

“Strike action is always a last resort for us,” he said.

Quiet wards in Abuja

In Abuja, hospitals such as Gwarimpa and Kubwa General Hospitals recorded unusually low patient turnout. PREMIUM TIMES observed empty corridors, inactive departments and minimal clinical activity. While records offices were open in some facilities, many staff declined to comment on the situation.

At Kubwa General Hospital, the atmosphere was similarly subdued. The records office was open, but only a few patients were seen around the GOPD waiting area. Most clinical sections appeared inactive, with empty waiting rooms and no doctors in sight at the time of the visit.

Across both hospitals, entire departments were either empty or operating at minimal capacity. The absence of patients was as striking as the absence of visible medical personnel in many units.

READ ALSO: JOHESU Strike: TUC, NLC issue 14-day ultimatum over health workers’ pay, threaten nationwide strike

Background to the strike

The ongoing industrial action began on 15 November 2025 after JOHESU declared an indefinite strike over the federal government’s failure to implement the adjusted CONHESS.

The unions said their demands date back to 2014, when salary adjustments under CONMESS were implemented for doctors, while non-doctor health workers under CONHESS were excluded.

They accused government agencies of delaying the implementation of a 2022 technical committee report meant to address the disparity.

Before the latest ultimatum, TUC had issued a separate seven-day ultimatum on 14 January, demanding the withdrawal of a ‘no work, no pay’ circular issued by the health ministry.

The Congress described the directive as reckless and confrontational.