RismadarVoice Reporters, January 28, 2026
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has called on the Federal Government to facilitate the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for health workers, urging authorities to disregard salary parity claims being advanced by stakeholders in the health sector.
The Union faulted recent claims by the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) over the ongoing dispute on salary relativity, warning that attempts to derail parity under the CONHESS framework amount to misinformation, distortion of facts and discrimination against non-physician health workers.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, signed by JOHESU Chairman, Comrade Kabiru Minjibir, and National Secretary, Comrade Martin Egbanubi, the Union said the Federal Government and the public should note that NAMDA and NMA had previously admitted that the 2014 adjustment of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) was selective.
“In the light of the fact that we have graphically shown existing relativity at the entry point and that a Collective Bargaining Agreement supersedes a Memorandum of Understanding, JOHESU strongly demands again that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health, immediately facilitates the adjustment of CONHESS as a first-line redress of the years of the holocaust we suffer in the work environment,” the statement read.
JOHESU’s position follows recent warnings by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), which had threatened a nationwide industrial action over the Federal Government’s alleged failure to implement the reviewed CONHESS.
The labour centres last Friday issued what they described as a final, irrevocable 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant authorities, warning that failure to act would trigger mass mobilisation of workers across the country.
However, both NAMDA and NMA had criticized the NLC and TUC for issuing the ultimatum without consulting them, a stance JOHESU strongly condemned.
Reacting, JOHESU described the position of NAMDA and NMA as reflecting “a palpable but regrettable arrogance of ignorance” in the way physicians approach relationship structuring within the health sector.
“NAMDA and its allies opined, albeit without hesitation, that the labour centres should have approached them before making informed decisions on the situation of things in the health sector,” the Union stated.
“The fact is that physicians appreciate that they are protected not only by their physician godfathers but additionally by the instruments of the state, which they have deployed maximally to protect their oppressive, suppressive, and aggressive hegemony.”
On salary disparity, JOHESU insisted that the gap between CONMESS and CONHESS remains wide, contrary to claims being made in the public space.
“The CONMESS salary scale is fundamentally and substantially larger than CONHESS. They are not parallel scales; they are not remotely equal. Yet, despite this clear advantage, the public is being misled with claims of imbalance,” the union said.
To support its argument, JOHESU noted that a non-physician director earns roughly the same as a CONMESS 4 doctor only after about six years in service, while a chief consultant earns about 135 per cent of the salary of a Grade Level 17 officer.
“These figures alone expose the exaggeration and deliberate distortion being pushed in the public space,” it added.
The Union also revealed that the dispute was close to being resolved late last year, describing the renewed controversy as disingenuous.
“What makes the current narrative even more dishonest is that this matter was already nearing closure in December 2025,” JOHESU said.
Reaffirming its support for the NLC and TUC ultimatum, the Union vowed to take decisive action to correct what it described as long-standing injustice in the health sector.
“We will lead the way with trusted partners to redress years of monumental injustice. This cheap blackmail must be confronted directly. We have had enough of the noise. We challenge NAMDA or NMA to bring the tables and figures out before we do it for them. Let Nigerians see the truth for themselves,” the statement concluded.
