A bill currently being considered by the National assembly seeking to ensure that medical and dental graduates in Nigeria must work for a period of five years before being granted a practising licence has been rejected by the federal government.
This was revealed by the minister for Labour Chris Ngige while interacting with journalists after the extraordinary Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by vice president Yemi Osinbajo at the state house in Abuja.
Ngige described the bill as lacking the powers to stop the award of practicing licence to doctors and dental graduates because that will contradict established laws about medical practices in the country.
He said “nobody can say they will not get a practising licence until after five years. It will run contrary to the laws of the land that have established the progression in the practice of medicine”
“the bill in the national assembly cannot stop anybody from getting a full licence.”
Ngige described the bill as unworkable and not supported by him in anyway as the national assembly could find other effective means of stopping brain drain in the country.
“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.”
