Northern Nigerian Breaking News

Anti-Migration Bill: Resident doctors threaten strike

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has threatened to embark on strike over a House of Representatives bill which seeks to deny medical doctors full license until they have worked for a minimum of five years in the country.

The association made the threat in a communique released on April 10, following its emergency extended National Officers Committee meeting.

The communiqué which was signed by the NARD President Dr Emeka Orji; Secretary-General, Dr Kelechi Chikezie and Publicity and Social Secretary Dr Umar Musa, noted that the bill was an attempt to enslave medical practitioners.

Parts of the communiqué read: “The extended NOC admonishes the Federal House of Representatives that the obnoxious bill as sponsored by Ganiyu Johnson is a clear definition of modern-day slavery and not in keeping with anything civil, and so should be thrown away at this point.

“The house however agreed with him on the palpable dangers of the current menace of brain drain in the health sector and promised to work with the government to reverse the trend when the government was ready to come up with genuine solutions to the problem.

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“The extended NOC reiterates that any attempt by the government or any of her agencies to enslave Nigerian medical doctors under any guise would be strongly and vehemently resisted by the association.”

NARD also urged the Federal Government to pay the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund in accordance with the agreements reached by stakeholders assembled by the Federal Ministry of Health.

The association stressed that any attempts to violate the agreement would cause another series of unfavorable crises.

The resident doctors further called on the Federal Ministry of Health and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to upgrade the current status of the membership certificates of the postgraduate colleges.

SOLACEBASE reports that the bill, sponsored by Ganiyu Johnson, seeks compulsory five years service for Nigeria-trained Doctors before they can traveling abroad for greener pastures.

The proposed legislation is aimed at addressing brain drain in the country’s health sector.

Johnson had, while addressing the House plenary, noted that it was only fair for medical practitioners, who enjoyed taxpayer subsidies in their training, to give back to society by working for a minimum number of years in Nigeria before exporting their skills abroad.

NAN

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