A bill currently being debated by the National Assembly that would limit the movement of Nigerian doctors to countries with what they believe to be greener pastures was deemed “unworkable” by the Federal Government on Monday.

Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, made this announcement while answering questions from reporters following the emergency Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House in Abuja, which was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Ngige claimed the measure violates current labour regulations in response to resident doctors’ plan to go on a five-day warning strike over perceived attempts to prohibit medical and dental graduates from practising anywhere for five years.

According to The PUNCH, the bill’s sponsor, Lagos State representative and member of the House of Representatives Ganiyu Johnson, claimed that the action would stop a huge migration of medical professionals from the nation.

The bill’s full title is “A Bill for an Act to amend the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, Cap. M379, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to mandate that any Nigeria-trained medical or dental practitioner practise in Nigeria for a minimum of five years before being granted a full licence by the Council to provide Nigeria with high-quality healthcare services; and for related matters.”

The Nigerian Association of Resident Physicians responded to the development by announcing preparations to go on a five-day warning strike and pledging to oppose any guise to “enslave” Nigerian medical doctors.

In addition, they demanded the immediate implementation of CONMESS, the domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act, a 200% increase in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, as well as a review of the hazard allowance by all state governments and private tertiary health institutions where any form of residency training is conducted.

“Nobody can declare that (doctors) will not acquire a practising licence until after five years,” Ngige said. It will be against the laws of the land, which have established the development of medical practice.

“The Bill in the National Assembly cannot stop anybody from getting a full licence. That Bill is a private members’ bill. In the National Assembly, they attend to private members’ Bills and executive Bills.

Executive bills emanate from the government into the National Assembly with the stamp of the executive.

The Minister said the five-day strike is unnecessary since the government was already engaging with the Nigerian Medical Association, NARD’s umbrella body.

“On the demand for a 200 per cent salary increase, the NMA is the father of all doctors in Nigeria and they have about four or five affiliates of which the resident doctors are an association.

“So, NMA is discussing with the Federal Ministry of Health, salaries income and wages commission and the Ministry of Labour, and we know that NMA has accepted a salary increase of between 25 and 30 per cent across the board for their members.

“So, I don’t know the logic by which people who are members of NMA are now coming up to say pay us 200 per cent increase.

“I don’t understand it. I have called the NMA President to contact them because, on the issue of remuneration negotiation, it’s NMA that the government deals with. So, I have told the President of NMA to contact them and we will engage them. They should not go on any strike, it’s not necessary,” he said.

Ngige added that the Employee Compensation Act of 2010 was approved for universal implementation by the Council as a result of a memo put forth by his ministry. 

The law, he said, is administered by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, and it will take the place of the previous Employee Compensation Act, also known as Workmen Compensation.

Ngige stated that the Council had approved the ECA for widespread implementation, which “means that, aside from the private sector, which is already implementing, the public sector, which is government; federal, state, and local governments, now have to adopt this for the protection of their workers.”

“The Act provides that the worker who is injured or had an accident or contracted a disease is disabled, or is dead in the course of work should be compensated, remunerated and even the family; pay something when the man is no longer there.

“It didn’t make provision for some of the children to be schooled or educated, up to the age of 21.

“So today is a good day for Nigerian workers because the decent work agenda that is contained in Convention 102 of the ILO has a major branch on what they call workers’ protection in the course of work.

“It is either sent by the Attorney-General of the Federation or by the President, but usually from the Attorney-General of the Federation. So, it’s not an executive Bill, it’s a private member’s Bill.

“That document is, as far as I am concerned, not workable. Ab initio, I don’t support it and I will never support it.

“As I said before, it is like killing a fly with a sledgehammer. They should think of other ways if they are trying to check brain drain, there should be other ways.”