U.S. And Canadian Nursing Boards Reject Nigerian Applicants Amid NMCN Portal Closure Crisis
The suspension of license verification services by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) has left hundreds of Nigerian nurses stranded and unable to pursue their dreams of working abroad.
The NMCN portal, a critical platform for nurses practicing in Nigeria to get registered and verified as qualified medical practitioners, has been closed since February 2024, bringing the verification process for new nurses to a grinding halt.
The issue began on December 22, 2023, when the Registrar of NMCN ordered the immediate closure of the portal without providing any justification.
Despite a brief reopening in February 2024 following widespread outrage and intervention by the Ministry of Health, the portal remains closed, resulting in the rejection of Nigerian nurses’ applications to work overseas, particularly in the United States and Canada.
The Nigerian Medical Association has expressed regret over the situation, criticizing the House of Representatives’ directive to the NMCN to indefinitely suspend license verification services. In a statement shared on its official X handle, the association described the decision as an “unprecedented infringement of Nurses’ fundamental human rights,” likening it to a form of “mass kidnapping” that confines nurses to the country against their will.
Nursing boards in Texas and Alberta, Canada, have confirmed that they cannot proceed with offering jobs to Nigerian applicants until the NMCN reopens for license verification. The College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador has also rejected applications from Nigerian nurses due to the closure of account verifications.
