President, Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, Dr Emeka Orji, has rejected a proposed bill by the House of Representatives which seeks to make it compulsory for graduates in medical and dental fields to practice within Nigeria for five years before being granted full licence.Dr Emeka Orji said the bill as proposed by the lawmakers is anti-people, demanding that it should be withdrawn immediately.

Orji said, “Some people want to cause trouble for this government before they leave. NARD is averse to such an anti-people bill and it is unfortunate that an honourable member will be thinking about that. That is selfishness.“Have they come up with bills to stop public officials from seeking medical services abroad at taxpayers’ expense? They will not do that because it is affecting them directly and instead of addressing the root causes of brain drain, they are going to the symptom, and that is totally unacceptable.

“We know that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is someone that reasons a lot and we intend to reach out to him, that bill needs to be withdrawn. The thing is causing a lot of agitation already all over the country, and nobody should be allowed to cause a crisis for this regime that is about to end.”

Integrity News reported that the House of Rep. proposes compulsory 5-yr practice for doctors before leaving Nigeria which has passed for second reading, the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022, aiming to make it compulsory for medical doctors in the country to practice for sixty months ( 5 years) before being granted full licence.

The sponsor of the motion, Ganiyu Johnson (APC/Lagos), said the move was to check the heavy outflows of medical professionals from Nigeria.

The lawmaker noted that medical and dental education in Nigeria is seriously subsidised hence the beneficiaries should benefit the country before moving elsewhere.