From Doris Obinna
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to exercise greater circumspection in appointments within the country’s health sector, citing concerns over the overwhelming dominance of physicians in key positions to the exclusion of other healthcare professionals.
In a letter addressed to the President and signed by the PSN President, Ayuba Tanko, and National Secretary, Gafar Madehin, it expressed dismay at the pattern of political appointments since June 2023. They claim that nearly all strategic roles within the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the health sector have been filled by members of the medical profession, neglecting the sector’s inherently multidisciplinary structure.
The letter highlighted that both ministers overseeing the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), four other ministers who sit on the Federal Executive Council with health-related portfolios, the Special Adviser on Health, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), and heads of all 73 federal health institutions are physicians.
Furthermore, the PSN noted that leadership positions in key agencies such as the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), as well as university vice chancellorships in the health sciences, are all occupied by physicians.
It expressed particular concern over the appointment of a physician as chairman of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), an institution they argue should naturally be led by a pharmacist due to its focus on drugs and food regulation.
The PSN also referenced the recent appointment of Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe as chairman of the NHIA, describing it as controversial due to his past legislative efforts perceived as biased toward physicians, including an attempt to restrict the use of the title “doctor” to medical doctors within hospital settings.
Another major grievance outlined in the letter concerns the National Health Facility Regulatory Agency (NHFRA) Bill, which the PSN claims was secretly advanced by a group dominated by physicians.
According to the PSN, this draft bill threatens the autonomy of other health professions and is structured to reintroduce privileges previously denied to physicians under the National Health Act of 2014.
The PSN called on President Tinubu to adopt an inclusive approach to appointments in the health sector, akin to the built environment sector where various professionals such as architects, engineers, and surveyors collaborate on equal footing. It emphasized that this inclusive model would foster consensus-building and help Nigeria move closer to achieving universal health coverage.
PSN reiterated their commitment to supporting the federal government in reforming and stabilizing the nation’s struggling health system through equitable representation and professional balance in appointments.