Doctors b£rate Reps over move to stop them from relocating abroad until they’ve practiced for a minimum of 5yrs in Nigeria

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has kicked against the move by lawmakers to stop doctors from relocating abroad until they’ve practiced for a minimum of five years in Nigeria.

Recall that the House of Representatives on Thursday, April 6, passed for second reading, the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to make it compulsory for graduates in medical and dental fields to render services within Nigeria for five years before being granted full licence.

Reacting to the development, NARD president, Dr Emeka Orji, in a statement said, “Some people want to cause trouble for this government before they leave. NARD is averse to such anti-people bill and it is unfortunate that an honourable member will be thinking about that. That is selfishness.

Have they come up with bills to stop public officials from seeking medical services abroad at taxpayers’ expense? They will not do that because it is affecting them directly and instead of addressing the root causes of brain drain, they are going to the symptom, and that is totally unacceptable.

We know that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is someone that reasons a lot and we intend to reach out to him, that bill needs to be withdrawn. The thing is causing a lot of agitation already all over the country, and nobody should be allowed to cause a cri§is for this regime that is about to end.”