JOHESU Declares Nationwide Indefinite Strike, Accuses FG of 12-Year Delay on CONHESS Adjustment
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) on Friday, November 14, 2025, declared an indefinite Nationwide strike, accusing the Federal Government of deliberately refusing to implement the long-negotiated adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), more than 12 years after discussions first began in 2013.
The decision followed a resolution reached at the union’s expanded National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja. The communiqué, signed by JOHESU National Chairman, Comrade Biobelemoye Josiah, and Acting Secretary, Comrade Matthew Ajurotu, said the Union could no longer tolerate what it described as “consistent Government insensitivity” to the welfare of Health workers across Federal Institutions.
Josiah said the strike became inevitable after the Government failed to respond to a 21-day ultimatum issued on October 24, 2025, followed by a 7-day final notice that expired on Thursday, November 13. He added that several committees set up by the Federal Ministry of Health had “wasted years without implementing a single recommendation.”
The adjusted CONHESS—meant to address salary inequities affecting Nurses, Pharmacists, Laboratory Scientists, Radiographers, Physiotherapists, and other allied Health Professionals—has been on the negotiation table since 2013, with multiple agreements signed between JOHESU and the Government in 2014, 2018, and 2021, none of which were implemented.
With the strike now active, Federal Medical Centres, Specialist Hospitals, and University Teaching Hospitals have begun scaling down services. Early reports from Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu, and Kano indicate that clinics have suspended routine operations, while emergency wards are expected to experience severe strain if the impasse persists.
Ajurotu warned that the Health sector could “collapse into a full-blown crisis” unless President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration takes immediate action. He urged the Government to “honour its own agreements and restore confidence among the workforce.”
As at press time, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, led by Minister Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, had not issued an official response to the Nationwide shutdown.
