Doctors can leave Nigeria, Chris Ngige insists

 

Emmanuel Thomas l Monday, 1 May 2023

 

LAGOS, Nigeria – Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige has insisted that he meant what he said in 2022 that any medical doctor that is not satisfied with his emolument can leave the country and that there is no apology for making that statement.

Ngige who was speaking on Arise News said that doctors in Nigeria have been well remunerated.

He said that apart from the 40 percent salary increment recently approved by government, there was 300 percent increment in their hazard allowance adding that a medical doctor now takes as much as N45,000 as hazard allowance against N5,000 which has been the case since 2007, apart from their salaries.

He explained that medical doctors undergoing houseman ship, which he described as training receives full pay, while government provides free accommodation and takes care of their school fees as against what is obtained in the United Kingdom and the United States where doctors in training obtain loans which they have to offset after training hence their inability to leave the country and practice elsewhere.

He said there is nothing wrong for Nigerian doctors to be patriotic and stay back in the country, following the sacrifice that government has made for them but that those who are still not satisfied can however leave.

Minister, a medical doctor, like some of his children sees nothing wrong with the private member bill that is being proposed in the National Assembly that seeks to bond medical doctors for five year practice in Nigeria before they can leave for greener pastures, adding that there is no need for doctors to embark on strike as a result of the bill since it is not an executive bill but a private member bill.