The federal government has expressed its objection to the bill now before the National Assembly seeking to control the migration of doctors for greener pastures abroad.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, gave the position while fielding questions from correspondents on the outcome of the extraordinary Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday.
Responding to a question on the threat of doctors to go on a warning strike over what they perceive as the attempt to compulsory keep medical and dental graduates in the country for five years, he said the bill will go against extant Labour laws.
The sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives, Ganiyu Johnson, representing Lagos State, had explained that the move was to check the mass exodus of medical professionals from the country.
The legislation is titled: “A Bill for an Act to amend the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, Cap. M379, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to mandate any Nigeria-trained medical or dental practitioner to practise in Nigeria for a minimum of five years before being granted a full licence by the council to make quality health services available to Nigeria; and for related matters.”
Following the introduction of the bill, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) had vowed that it will resist any attempt to enslave Nigerian medical doctors under any guise.
The association has announced plan to embark on a five-day warning strike with the immediate withdrawal of the bill as one of its demands.
Other demands are an immediate increment in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to the tune of 200 per cent of the current gross salaries of doctors, the immediate implementation of CONMESS, domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act, and review of hazard allowance by all the state governments as well as private tertiary health institutions where any form of residency training is done; among others.
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