EXCLUSIVE: Nurses Protest Alleged N25,000 Compulsory Contributions For Senior Officers’ Retirement Celebrations
EXCLUSIVE: Nurses Protest Alleged N25,000 Compulsory Contributions For Senior Officers’ Retirement Celebrations
Nurses under the Lagos State Health Service Commission (HSC) have raised concerns over alleged compulsory financial contributions imposed on them to fund the retirement celebrations of senior nursing officers.
According to a report obtained by Street News Reporters, an internal notice directed nurses to contribute money based on their grade levels towards the retirement celebrations of Nurse Cole Adebukola, Director of Nursing Services at the Lagos State Health Service, and Nurse Awobajo Oluranti of the Directorate of Nursing.
The notice reportedly stated that Nurse Cole is scheduled to retire on December 18, 2026, while Nurse Awobajo is expected to retire on December 11, 2026.
Under the alleged arrangement, nurses on Grade Levels 15 to 17 were asked to contribute N25,000 each, while those on Grade Levels 12 to 14 were reportedly directed to pay N15,000.
Nurses on Grade Levels 8 to 10 were allegedly asked to contribute N10,000, while those on Grade Level 7 were reportedly required to pay N5,000.
The notice allegedly instructed the nurses to make the payments through their respective ward managers for onward collation by the Health Service Commission.
The directive has reportedly generated dissatisfaction among some nurses, who questioned why public health workers should be required to make compulsory payments towards retirement celebrations for senior officers, particularly amid rising living costs and financial pressures.
The Elegant Nurses Forum (ENF), in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Nurse Thomas Abiodun Olamide, reportedly condemned the alleged compulsory contributions and said nurses should not be treated as sources of funding for private celebrations involving their superiors.
The group alleged that nurses had also previously been pressured to contribute money towards the wedding of a senior officer’s child, describing the alleged practice as an inappropriate use of workplace authority.
The ENF said contributions towards social events should be voluntary and that no nurse should face intimidation, punishment, victimisation or career-related consequences for refusing to contribute.
The organisation also called for an end to what it described as compulsory financial demands for retirement ceremonies, weddings, birthdays and other private celebrations involving senior officers or their relatives.
According to the group, nurses are already dealing with challenges relating to remuneration, professional development and rising living costs, making additional compulsory financial demands particularly difficult for many workers.
The ENF further argued that retirement celebrations should not become a financial burden on junior or lower-paid workers. It urged the Health Service Commission to take responsibility for any official retirement events it chooses to organise rather than transferring the cost to individual nurses.
The group also called for an independent mechanism through which nurses could confidentially report alleged financial coercion or workplace intimidation without fear of retaliation.
The controversy has also renewed discussion about the welfare of healthcare workers and the importance of ensuring that workplace contributions remain genuinely voluntary.
Street News Reporters understands that the allegations concern nurses under the Lagos State Health Service Commission, not Ondo State. The reported contribution schedule and complaints are based on the internal notice and statements attributed to the nurses’ advocacy group.
The Health Service Commission and other relevant authorities have not, in the available report, provided a detailed public response addressing the allegations.
