The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) has accused the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government of being responsible for the ongoing health workers’ strike, insisting that Nigerians should not be held accountable for the disruption in medical services.

The union said the strike is rooted in a single demand, the implementation of the report on the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for health workers, which it claims the government has failed to address.

“We know the impact of the strike on Nigerian citizens, but Nigerian citizens should not hold us responsible. The government should be responsible because the government must do the needful so we can avert such a strike in the future,” JOHESU National Secretary Martin Egbanubi said on Channels TV on Monday.

Egbanubi admitted the strike has caused hardship for Nigerians who cannot afford private healthcare, but argued that the union is also suffering, having lost members during the industrial action.

“It’s quite unfortunate; we’ve said severally in different media engagements that we truly empathise with the masses of this country — the consumers of health [services], those who cannot afford health care outside the public health institutions.

“We sympathise and, of course, you know we are also part of this masses; our members are part of the masses. We have had casualties among our members; as of last week, we lost one of our members at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital,” he stated.

He urged Nigerians to appeal to the government to address the demand quickly so the strike can be suspended, stressing that JOHESU does not enjoy the disruption.

“I think well-meaning Nigerians should appeal to the government to address the demand as quickly as possible so that we can suspend the strike because we are not deriving any pleasure in continuing with the strike.

“It is also not convenient for us because of a lot of difficulties associated with the implementation of a strike — logistics and all that. So, what we are saying in essence is that let the masses appeal on our behalf to the Federal Government to please address this one-point demand of the health workers, and then we are good to go to suspend the strike,” he added.

Egbanubi also expressed frustration that despite repeated engagements with the government, including President Bola Tinubu’s assurance to mandate relevant agencies to resolve the issue, the demand remains unmet.

“We sounded a series of warnings. We had a series of engagements before we resumed the strike that was suspended in 2023, when the President intervened on June 5, 2023, that we should suspend the strike, and he would mandate the relevant MDA to address our issue.

“We have also written a letter to Mr. President to remind him of the engagement on June 5, 2023,” he said.

JOHESU had in November 2025 announced an indefinite strike, stating it would continue until the adjusted CONHESS was implemented.

The National Chairman of the Medical and Health Workers Union, Kabiru Minjibri, warned that the strike would disrupt medical services and academic activities nationwide and accused the government of failing to reach an agreement.

Last week, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) backed the strike and rejected a circular from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on implementing a “No Work, No Pay” policy and stopping salaries of joint health sector union members through IPPIS, effective January 2026.

The TUC described the directive as unacceptable, saying it undermined ongoing negotiations and violated industrial relations principles, accusing the ministry of acting unilaterally while talks were still ongoing.