The House of Representatives’ Committee on Health Care Services has summoned the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, Dr Tajudeen Sanusi to appear before it on Friday, 9 April or risk immediate arrest.
The Chairman of the Committee Mr. Tanko Sununu gave the order while speaking with National Assembly Correspondents in Abuja on the concerted efforts being made to end the strike in the National interest.
Dr. Sanusi was to appear before the committee on Thursday but failed to honour the invitation with an excuse that he was attending the Medical Council Tribunal.
The Chairman condemned the action of the Registrar to attend to an individual issue at the expense of a national emergency, explaining that the House would be forced to invoke all relevant laws if he fails to appear on Friday.
“So because he is a major stakeholder, we have decided to call off the meeting today and summon him to appear unfailingly before us by 9 am tomorrow (Friday), failure which, we are going to invoke all the necessary powers of the National Assembly including the warrant of arrest on the Registrar.
We cannot watch while people are suffering. We also call on the striking doctors to please temper justice with mercy. Everybody believes that your demands are genuine, but there are processes to achieve them.
We were informed that they (MDCN) were right now conducting a medical disciplinary tribunal and meeting which we believe is the case of an individual.
We are here to address national interests. Peoples’ lives were lost during the strike, services were interrupted and accessibility to health care was also denied because of the strike.
And to make matters worse, in Nigeria 70 per cent of healthcare procurement is out of pocket. The economy has gone down, so access to healthcare is in question, we cannot as representatives of the people allow the country to continue like this,” Sununu added.
The Registrar was being summoned to answer questions bordering on the ongoing strike by resident doctors that has cost many lives, health services interrupted while accessibility to health care was also denied.
Lateefah Ibrahim
