‘Nigeria now exporter of doctors’, says NMA, slams Lagos Govt over unpaid salaries

By Chioma Obinna

The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Lagos State Branch, connected Monday took a swipe astatine the Federal and State governments implicit mediocre wellness funding, payment neglect, and what it described arsenic “deliberate erosion of aesculapian wage relativity,” informing that Nigeria has present go a large exporter of doctors aft India.

Speaking astatine a property briefing to people the 2025 Annual General Meeting/Annual General Conference, AGM/AGC, of the association, themed “A Critical Appraisal of Nigeria’s Budgetary Allocations to Health: Negotiating for Better Medical Salary Scale and Relativity for Medical Doctors”, the Lagos NMA Chairman, Dr. Saheed Babajide, said it was shameful that contempt rising authorities revenues, wellness remains grossly underfunded portion doctors are overworked, underpaid, and driven retired of the country.

“The president himself boasts that Nigeria has wealth and has cleared debts. If the authorities is getting much revenue, wherefore are we inactive connected 5 per cent wellness allocation alternatively of 15 per cent arsenic agreed successful the Abuja Declaration?” Babajide queried.

“Any authorities that has not achieved astatine slightest 8 per cent allocation is simply a failure. Let’s not deceive ourselves. Nigeria has the capableness and fiscal spot to money wellness decently but has chosen not to prioritise it.”

“Nigeria’s 2025 fund earmarked ₦2.48 trillion for health, representing conscionable 5.18 per cent of full expenditure, acold beneath the 15 per cent continental target.

According to Babajide, the effect is collapsing hospitals, mediocre moving conditions, and wide emigration of wellness professionals.

“Nigeria has go the epicentre of wellness idiosyncratic export aft India. The authorities has turned doctors into its second-largest export commodity aft crude oil,” helium lamented.

Speaking connected welfare, Babajide condemned the July and August 2025 wage cuts imposed by the State Treasury Office connected Lagos State-employed doctors and demanded their contiguous reversal.

“We cull immoderate reduced oregon distorted wage operation for doctors successful Lagos. At the precise least, the pre-April 2025 wage indispensable beryllium restored from September. Given the crushing workload and economical realities successful Lagos,” helium said, our members merit more, not less.

The NMA besides decried the continued non-provision of call-duty meals and unpaid skipping arrears astatine Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, describing the concern arsenic “welfare sabotage” with nonstop consequences connected diligent care.

Continuing, the relation further faulted the continued enactment of Dr. Olugbenga Owoeye arsenic Acting Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, describing it arsenic “sacrilegious” and a breach of extant rules. “How tin 1 manus implicit to himself? His tenure has expired, yet helium remains successful bureau portion inactive contesting for a 2nd term. We telephone connected the Minister of Health, Prof. Ali Pate, to extremity this reign of impunity immediately,” Babajide stated.

He besides renewed calls for the adoption of a azygous five-year tenure for Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Medical Directors (MDs) of tertiary wellness institutions to forestall maltreatment of power.

He explained that this year’s NMA conference, volition diagnostic Prof. Edamisan Temiye arsenic the keynote speaker. Sub-themes see medico-legal challenges successful practice, with panelists from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Lagos Ministry of Justice, instrumentality enforcement, and ineligible experts.

Other activities for the weeklong lawsuit see aesculapian outreach, quiz competitions, shot matches, commissioning of the rehabilitated Lagos SCID Panti Clinic, Jumat service, and a dinner.

To policymakers, Saheed urged the Minister of Health and commissioners to halt focusing connected “commissioning projects and chasing probe partnerships” astatine the disbursal of manpower.

“The world is simple—without wellness workers, determination is nary healthcare. Government indispensable halt chasing shadows and look the existent problem: doctors are leaving successful droves, and those near down are being beaten down by mediocre payment and unspeakable moving condition...