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By Doris Obinna
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has urged the National Assembly to halt proposed amendments to key health sector laws, warning that the moves could undermine the autonomy of non-physician health professions and destabilise Nigeria’s healthcare system.
The union accused medical practitioners, under the aegis of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), of seeking to impose what they described as an “apartheid regime of regulatory control” over other healthcare professions through executive-backed amendment bills.
JOHESU in a statement signed by it’s Chairman, Kabiru Ado Minjibir, and General Secretary, Martin Egbanubi, stated that the healthcare sector is inherently multi-professional and thrives on collaboration among pharmacists, medical laboratory scientists, radiographers, nurses and other practitioners. They argued that statutes establishing regulatory councils to safeguard standards, ethics and public safety back each profession.
The union cited past disputes in which physicians allegedly resisted regulatory inspections by agencies such as the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) and the Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria (RRBN). According to JOHESU, the courts have consistently affirmed the statutory powers of these bodies to regulate their respective professions.
JOHESU specifically referenced Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/559/2018 filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, by MDCAN, which sought a declaration that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) is the sole authority to regulate clinical laboratory practice and other allied professions in hospitals and clinics. Justice Anuwuri Chikere struck out the case for lack of evidence. The union noted that related matters are still pending at the appellate level.
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On pharmacy regulation, JOHESU defended the composition and autonomy of the PCN Governing Council, insisting that its membership should reflect professional expertise drawn from the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), academia, state directors of pharmaceutical services, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) and pharmacy technicians.
The union argued that pharmacy practice falls under the Exclusive Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution due to the sensitivity of drug regulation, and warned against proposals to introduce “community interest” representatives on the council. It maintained that effective drug control requires specialised knowledge and cited historical legislation dating back to colonial ordinances and the Pharmacists Act of 1964 as the foundation of professional autonomy in the sector.
JOHESU also pointed to a 2016 judgment of the National Industrial Court in NICN/ABJ/284/2014 between the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex and the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria. The court affirmed that medical laboratory science is a distinct profession with exclusive jurisdiction over its statutory functions and cannot be subordinated to another profession in matters within its competence.
The union expressed concern over provisions in a proposed Medical and Dental Practitioners Bill 2026, particularly clauses relating to prescription authority, which it said could undermine the Community Health Practitioners Act and restrict evolving global practices that permit pharmacists and other trained cadres to prescribe certain medicines to improve efficiency and reduce waiting times.
JOHESU further argued that it would be improper for the National Assembly to legislate on issues currently before the courts, warning that doing so could contravene parliamentary rules and the principle of separation of powers. “The attempt to foist an apartheid regime in the Nigerian health sector by imposing medical and dental practitioners over the professional regulatory control of other healthcare professions will spell doom for the system. The National Assembly must reject the bills in the greater interest of peace, equity and stability in the health sector.”
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