by Henry Uche
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has accused the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, of being biased in the disagreements between the union and the duo of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN)/Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), saying it was time to caution any group working against JOHESU. They union asked the leadership of the Senate to halt the MDCN (amendment) bill in line with Order 41 of the rules of proceeding of the Senate, which empowers the Senate to step down any matter pending in a law court when considering any bill.
In a statement, the union’s chairman, Joy Josiah, stated that the public hearing held on February 1, 2021, on the matter between MDCN/NMA and other medical practitioners like those in pharmacy, medical laboratory science, nursing, radiography, etc, under the umbrella of JOHESU, was unacceptable, therefore, the Senate must probe the public hearing and reorganise the committee on health to prevent vindictive purposelessness associated with the tendencies of the NMA hierarchy as epitomized by Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe.
JOHESU maintained that the “grab-grab syndrome” and “know it all attitude” of Nigerian doctors was the cause of Nigeria’s wrecked health system to the point of becoming the hallmark of negative health indices as well as the wretched and shameful position of Nigeria as 187 out of 191 health systems globally.
He cautioned the leadership of NMA to desist from belittling other JOHESU professinals, saying, “The NMA leadership in the last few years has continually excelled in clever use of untruth. We disagree with you branding autonomous medical professions as allied to medicine.
“JOHESU, as a matter of fact, is a legitimate conglomerate of five registered trade unions in the health sector. It is a metamorphosis from our old joint action committees with a more refined and structured depth to be truly impactful.”
According to JOHESU, some sections of the MDCN bill need to be expunged, since the matter was still open in the court of law. “We observed with dismay at the February 1, 2021, public hearing that when Oloriegbe was reeling out his “decree” on the rules at that hearing, he insisted references must not be made to court processes or judgements.
“They have a case pending at the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which necessitates the need to invoke Order 41 of the Senate rules to immediately step down Sections 45(3)(d) and (e) from further consideration in the MDCN Bill. Senator Oloriegbe’s action is contrary to Order 41 of the Rules of Proceeding of the Senate, which empowers the Senate to step down any matter that is pending in a law court when considering any bill. In the light of the foregoing, Section 4(9) must be expunged from the MDCN bill in its entirety in conformity with Order 41 of the Senate rules without further delay.”
The union admonished NMA to get beyond self-inflicted paranoia as it would continue to inflict severe psychological atrophy in the evolution of medical practice in the country. They urged the federal government to be wary of the antecedents and pedigree of persons who emerge vice-chancellors of our universities, saying that any reckless appointment into the office of VC would amount to devastation across board.