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2027 Elections: We Won’t Fund or Endorse Any Candidate — Health workers
The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) has declared that it will not endorse or finance any political party or candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that politicians must address the welfare concerns of its members before seeking their support.
The union, however, said health workers would not remain passive spectators in the electoral process but would participate as an organised constituency demanding concrete commitments on salaries, outstanding arrears and the implementation of collective agreements.
MHWUN President, Comrade Kabiru Ado Sani, stated this on Wednesday while delivering his welcome address at the union’s 52nd National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
Sani said the union would neither align with political parties nor allow its members’ numerical strength and professional importance to be exploited for election campaigns without corresponding improvements in their welfare.
“MHWUN is a trade union, not a political party. We will not endorse any party or candidate, and the funds of this Union will not be used to finance any of them,” he said.
He stressed that members remained free to vote according to their conscience, adding that nobody had the authority to speak on behalf of the union while campaigning for a political party.
According to him, the union’s political influence lies not in directing members on whom to vote for but in ensuring that every political contender addresses the unresolved challenges confronting health workers.
“Our influence does not lie in telling members how to vote. It lies in making the health worker’s agenda impossible to ignore, whoever wins,” he stated.
The union identified the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), outstanding salary arrears and unimplemented collective agreements with the Federal Government as major issues that must be addressed.
Sani maintained that agreements signed by the Federal Government remained binding obligations of the state and should not be abandoned whenever there was a change of administration.
“A collective agreement signed by the Federal Government is an obligation of the State. It does not lapse when a tenure ends, and no incoming administration is entitled to treat it as the debt of its predecessor,” he said.
He added that whoever emerged victorious in the 2027 presidential election would inherit the government’s outstanding obligations to health workers alongside public assets and the national treasury.
The MHWUN president also urged members to participate peacefully and lawfully in the electoral process, warning against actions that could damage the union’s reputation or jeopardise their interests.
He described the forthcoming election as a defining moment for Nigerian health workers, noting that political candidates would likely court their support with promises and praises during the campaign period.
According to him, describing health workers as national heroes and pillars of the health system would amount to empty political rhetoric unless backed by improved working conditions, payment of arrears and investment in healthcare infrastructure.
The 52nd NEC meeting is being held under the theme, “Health Workers and Socio-Economic Crisis: Implications for the 2027 General Election.”
Sani explained that the theme was designed to encourage health workers to understand how the outcome of the 2027 elections could affect their economic and social conditions, rather than draw them into partisan politics.
He also commended the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) for its continued role in advocating improved welfare for health workers and increased funding for the health sector.
The MHWUN president said the demand for an adjustment of CONHESS had remained central to JOHESU’s struggle for about 13 years, resulting in several industrial actions, including the historic 84-day strike suspended on February 5, 2026.
He said the strike was suspended following the signing of a Terms of Settlement (ToS) with the Federal Government, which provided a framework for resolving the dispute.
However, Sani accused the Federal Government of delaying implementation of the agreement, despite the expiration of the April 2026 deadline earlier promised for the CONHESS adjustment.
He expressed disappointment that the government had allegedly failed to honour the spirit of the settlement, adding that the union was awaiting further directives from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which had pledged to take over the demands.
