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– Slams NAMDA’s petition as lacking academic rigor
By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
The health sector was thrown into fresh turmoil at the weekend as the Clinical Pharmacists Association of Nigeria (CPAN) delivered a blistering rebuttal to the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) over its December 1, 2025 petition opposing consultant status for pharmacists and nurses.
In a sharply worded statement signed by its National Chairman, Dr. Maureen Nwafor, and National Secretary, Dr. AbdulMuminu Isah, CPAN described NAMDA’s petition to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation as “unacademic, fear-driven and lacking the intellectual discipline expected of an academic body.”
Dr. Nwafor said CPAN had no choice but to respond because NAMDA’s submission recycled “old, debunked arguments” and risked misleading policymakers at a critical time in Nigeria’s health-sector reform.
According to her, the petition “lacked scholarly structure, contained no citations, leaned heavily on emotional rhetoric, and collapsed under basic academic scrutiny.”
“A truly academic document rests on evidence, logic and literature review. NAMDA’s petition fails on every count. It is riddled with contradictions and outdated claims dressed up as analysis,” she declared.
CPAN faulted NAMDA’s claim that pharmacists and nurses lack clinical relevance, insisting that global and local research overwhelmingly proves their impact on patient outcomes.
The association cited numerous Nigerian studies showing that pharmacist-led interventions reduce drug therapy problems, improve disease management, boost adherence, prevent avoidable harm and enhance patient safety.
Evidence from epilepsy care, asthma and COPD management, diabetes control, antidepressant adherence and HIV treatment was highlighted as proof of measurable clinical benefits.
Dr. Nwafor noted that even pharmacy students have published studies showing outcome-changing clinical contributions.
“When trainees can demonstrably improve patient outcomes, any claim of professional irrelevance becomes indefensible,” she said.
CPAN stressed that consultant pharmacists and consultant nurses are already entrenched across the UK, US, Canada, Australia and South Africa—countries where they play pivotal roles in patient care, governance and cost efficiency.
“Nigeria is not pioneering anything new. We are simply adopting global best practice. Opposition to consultant cadres is rooted in outdated thinking, not evidence,” Dr. Nwafor added.
Addressing the Head of Service and the National Council on Establishments, CPAN urged government officials not to be swayed by “documents built on fear rather than facts,” insisting that ongoing reforms are essential for a safer and globally competitive health system.
The group reminded stakeholders that the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) Act 2022 already provides a modern regulatory framework—one that has overtaken the obsolete laws NAMDA referenced.
CPAN concluded with a call for unity, warning that Nigeria’s health challenges are too big for inter-professional turf battles.
“Our patients deserve 21st-century healthcare built on cooperation, respect and evidence—not archaic rivalries,” the association stated.
Reaffirming its support for government, CPAN urged swift implementation of consultant cadres for pharmacists and nurses, describing the reform as “critical to building a modern, efficient, globally aligned health system.”
The group maintained that “history will remember those who stood on the side of progress.”
