The chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, has criticized the bill requiring medical and dental practitioners to practice for five years before relocating abroad.
According to Oloriegbe, the bill violates the right to free movement enshrined in the 1999 constitution (as amended).
The bill has been opposed by the Nigerian Medical Students Association (NiMSA) and the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN).
Oloriegbe, in a statement issued during the weekend, said the bill is not “enough as a strategy” to address brain drain in Nigeria’s health sector, adding that “factors responsible for brain drain are multifaceted”.
According to the medical doctor, the bill’s sponsor does not understand the facts surrounding the “granting of practising licence” in the health sector.
Instead of proposing a bill, the senator added, the factors driving skilled health workers to leave Nigeria must be addressed.
“The bill is not enough as a strategy to address the challenge of brain drain in the health sector,” the senator said.
“This is because the factors responsible for brain drain are multifaceted and the mere denial of full practice license to medical practitioners as contained in the proposal will never resolve and may even aggravate them.
“Focusing attention only on the medical doctors is like curing one of many ailments that are threatening the life of a dying patient without finding solutions to the others.
“In addition, with all due respect, the issues and facts related to granting of practising license are not understood by the sponsor of the bill.
“The piece of the proposed legislation at a minimum violates the right to the “Freedom of Movement” (Sec. 41) and “The right to freedom from discrimination” under (Sec. 42) as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999, as amended.
“These rights cannot be ordinarily denied by any person or government. Thus, we can’t be seeking legal redress through an illegal procedure.
“A person who is “qualified as a Medical Doctor” cannot be denied a license to practise having been certified qualified, except if he is found wanting in the ethics of the profession. Labour laws will come into place here.”
“Besides, it is not only medical doctors that are leaving the country for greener pastures abroad, there are other health workers, as well as professionals in other fields of human endeavour, trained but leaving the country on daily basis for similar purposes,” Oloriegbe said.
The bill
A bill requiring Nigerian-trained medical and dental practitioners to practice in the country for at least five years before being granted a full license has passed second reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill, sponsored by Ganiyu Johnson, an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker from Lagos, seeks to amend the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act 2004, in order to address brain drain in Nigeria’s health sector.
If the bill is passed, medical and dental practitioners trained in the country will be required to practice for at least five years before being granted a full license.
Concerns have recently been raised about the relocation of many Nigerian healthcare workers to foreign countries, a development that has degraded the country’s health sector.
Johnson stated that it was only fair for medical doctors who received taxpayer subsidies for their education to give back to society.
He claimed that if they had worked in Nigeria for a certain number of years before leaving to practice abroad, the country would have benefited from their skills.
Uzoma Nkem-Abonta (PDP-Abia) spoke out against the bill, claiming that it would “tie down” doctors in Nigeria for five years before they could seek employment in another country.
Mark Gbillah, a Benue lawmaker, said the bill should be reworked because it includes provisions that violate the fundamental human rights of Nigerian-trained doctors.
“A person in such a critical field as medicine — how would you give somebody a temporary licence? You would need a licence to be certified to practice,” Gbillah said.
“Do we try to restrict these people and infringe on their fundamental human rights or apportion more resources to the medical profession?”
In his remarks, Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house, said fundamental human right is not absolute and that freedom can be restricted in some situations.
“Let me clear the issue of fundamental human rights that have been raised. If you go to section 45(1) of the constitution, it allows you to deviate from your fundamental human right under certain conditions,” the speaker said.
“One of these conditions concerns public health. So, if the government feels to safeguard public health, then we have not violated anybody’s human rights.”
When the bill was put to a voice vote, the lawmakers approved it.
