Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The Senate, yesterday, urged the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to allow Nigerian medical graduates from Ukraine and Sudan, where war did not affect their academic activities to sit for the MDCN examination in July and November this year without any discrimination.
The Upper Chamber also appealed to the MDCN to, in no distant time, work toward the conduct of the MDCN examination in each geopolitical zones of the country like the Law School, in order to reduce the cost on the students and their parents.
The Senate resolutions followed the adoption of a motion at plenary yesterday.
Titled, “Discrimination Against Medical Graduates from Ukraine by Nigerian Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, the motion was moved by Senator Olalere Oyewumi (PDP- Osun)
Olalere, in his lead debate, said the issue of medical graduates from Ukraine universities had drawn attention of the National Assembly since 2022.
He said in 2023, the House of Representatives and the Ministry of Health concluded with the Medical and Dental Council to allow the students that graduated from medical schools in Ukraine to participate in qualifying exam like other students, or at best, organise a makeup programme for them before the exam.
He said MDCN has slated a referral programme for the 2022 graduates alone at Federal Medical Centre, Gwagwalada, at the cost of N1.5 million per student to be paid in one and half weeks.
He said the concerned parents of the affected students had visited the National Assembly complex to lodge their complain during the vacation of the Senate for extension of the deadline for payment to one month from one and half week.
Olalere, who is Senate Deputy Minority Leader, said the war in Ukraine affected the eastern part of Ukraine and KIV, the capital, adding that western Ukraine was not affected.
According to him, the students were on campus doing their programme unhindered as confirmed by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Nigeria.
He said since the war in Ukraine did not affect all the universities, especially, students in Western parts of Ukraine, students who graduated from those universities in 2023 should be allowed to sit for MDCN exams henceforth without any hindrance.
Other senators, who supported the motion included Senators Adamu Alero (PDP- Kebbi) and Abdul Ningi (PDP-Bauchi), among others.
Senate also urged the Committee of Nigerian Vice Chancellors to allow Nigerian students arriving from war turn countries to be admitted into Nigerian universities to complete their studies.
President of Senate, Godswill Akpiabio, commended the sponsor of the motion, saying that it elicited comments from the lawmakers.
He expressed belief that the resolutions of the Senate would be adhered to by MDCN and the Vice Chancellors to ameliorate sufferings of concerned Nigerian medical graduates from the war affected nations.
