4. NMA worries over dearth of health regulators
The` Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has expressed worry over the continued absence of regulatory bodies of health institutions which is currently threatening healthcare delivery in the country, calling on President Muhammed Buhari to urgently constitute the Governing Board of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN.
In a statement NMA President, Dr. Mike O. Ogirima and Secretary General, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, said the MDCN is the regulatory body responsible for medical practice and undergraduate training of medical students, accreditation of private and public medical schools, and enforcement of disciplinary measures against erring medical practitioners. They urged government to work within the ambit of the law aimed at gaining back lost glory. The NMA also alleged that the National Universities Commission, NUC, is incursing into medical training, warning that only MDCN and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, NPMCN, have the responsibility to train medical practitioners at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the country. Responsibility “This responsibility has been successfully executed by the two bodies with Nigerian Doctors being among the most highly sought after throughout the world. “The NMA wishes to clearly state that the directives by the NUC via a purported circular by the NUC that the qualification to be a lecturer by medical trainers in Nigerian Universities by year 2021 will be based on possession of PhD is not only unacceptable to the NMA but also against the act establishing the NPMCN. It should be noted that both bodies are product of acts of the National Assembly. “The NPMCN act gives the college the right to award Fellowship, Diplomas and Degrees that are recognisable for appointment as both Trainer and Specialist. The products of the college have since been doing that with passion. “It is therefore mandatory for NUC to act within the laws of the country by immediately withdrawing the said circular or the NMA will challenge it through all means available within the ambit of the law of our country, “ they stated.
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