By Ayodele Oni
Nurses under the Lagos State Health Service Commission (HSC) have kicked against alleged compulsory financial contributions imposed on them to support retirement celebrations of senior nursing officers.
It was gathered that an internal notice had informed the nurses that they must contribute money according to their grade levels, towards the retirement of Cole Adebukola, Director of Nursing Services at Lagos State Health Service, and Nurse Awobajo Oluranti of the Directorate of Nursing.
According to the notice, Nurse Cole is scheduled to retire on December 18, 2026, while Nurse Awobajo is expected to retire on December 11, 2026.
The notice directed nurses to contribute according to their grade levels, with those on Grade Levels 15 to 17 asked to contribute N25,000, while nurses on Grade Levels 12 to 14 were assigned N15,000 contribution each.
Nurses on Grade Levels 8 to 10 were mandated to contribute N10,000, while those on Grade Level 7 were asked to pay N5,000.
According to report, the notice instructed nurses to make the payments to their respective ward managers for onward collation to the HSC.
“Payment should be made to your ward managers, for onward collation to HSC,” the notice stated.
Report says the directive has triggered anger among some nurses who questioned why workers should be required to finance celebrations for their superiors at a time of economic hardship.
The development has reportedly provoked reactions from The Elegant Nurses Forum in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Nurse Thomas Abiodun Olamide, declaring that nurses were workers and should not be treated as personal sources of funding for retirement ceremonies, weddings or other private celebrations.
The ENF condemned the practice as exploitation, accusing the HSC of turning nurses into “ATM machines” for bosses’ parties.
The group demanded an immediate end to compulsory contributions for retirement ceremonies, weddings, birthdays and other private celebrations involving senior officers or their family members.
“The Elegant Nurses Forum considers this development unacceptable and strongly condemns any attempt to force or intimidate Nurses into making financial contributions for a celebration they may not be willing or financially able to support.”
The group pointed out that the alleged practice was particularly troubling because nurses were already dealing with economic hardship, poor welfare, inadequate remuneration and rising living costs.
It also alleged that nurses had previously been pressured to contribute towards the wedding of a senior officer’s child.
“We find it extremely disturbing that Nurses, who are already struggling to survive, could be subjected to repeated financial demands for private celebrations involving their superiors or members of their families,” ENF added.
The group argued that while colleagues should be free to voluntarily support one another, official positions should not be used to transform voluntary contributions into compulsory payments.
“Nobody should be punished, intimidated, threatened or victimised for refusing to contribute money to a private celebration,” the group said.
According to the group, retirement should be treated as an institutional milestone rather than a financial burden imposed on already struggling workers.
It called on the HSC to take responsibility for retirement ceremonies it chooses to organise rather than shifting the financial burden to individual nurses.
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