JOHESU Warns N/Assembly On Danger Passing Bills to Regulate Healthcare

The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has warned the National Assembly about the dangers of passing proposed amendments to laws on control and regulatory control of other healthcare in the country. 

The umbrella body of professional health workers in the country, claimed that the bills being initiated by the Medical and Dental Practitioners, if passed would create a monstrous regulatory structure that gives medical practitioners domineering control over other health professions in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

In a statement signed by the National Chairman of JOHESU, Kabiru Ado Minjibir, and General Secretary, Martin Egbanubi, the union described the exercise as an ‘’attempt to foist apartheid regime in the Nigerian health sector by imposing medical and dental practitioners on the professional regulatory control of other healthcare professions that are distinct and separate from medicine and dentistry.”

The union argued that such amendments to the laws would undermine the multidisciplinary nature of healthcare, which relies on collaboration among diverse professional groups, each with legally defined areas of competence.

It further contended that the interdependence and teamwork of all the professions in the sector is for the greatest benefit of society as “each profession in the sector has its body of knowledge, skills set, regulatory and practice framework as prescribed by laws and other statutory instruments of government to ensure the protection of society and through adherence to practice standards and ethical conduct by practitioners.”

According to the statement, such imposition which would tantamount to attempt by the medical practitioners to monopolise regulatory oversight over multiple health professions would “spell doom for the health sector of the nation.”

It said, “It has become imperative to alert Nigerians and the National Assembly in particular about the inordinate ambition of medical practitioners in Nigeria to impose an inglorious apartheid regime of regulatory control and practice in the Nigerian health sector.’’

JOHESU accused doctors of repeatedly undermining the authority of the professional health worker in the country by resisting inspections of facilities by statutory 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 the union, these disputes often resulted in litigation, where courts consistently upheld the authority of the respective councils to regulate their professions.

It cited several legal precedents, including a 2007 Federal High Court ruling in Lagos which affirmed the powers of the PCN to regulate pharmacy practice in both public and private sectors. “Physicians had resisted inspectorate teams of the PCN, MLSCN, and RRBN, stopping them from performing their legitimate functions,” JOHESU stated. “The courts have always validated the right and authority of other healthcare professions to regulate their practice in the best interest of society and patients.”

JOHESU also referenced a suit filed by the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) in 2018, which sought judicial declaration that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria should regulate clinical laboratory practice and allied professions. The Federal High Court struck out the case for lack of evidence, a decision JOHESU said underscored the independence of non-medical professional bodies.

The body further alleged that some government officials were now pursuing similar objectives through executive amendment bills. According to the documents, the union alleged that some Cabinet Ministers and advisers within the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and other Ministries in President Bola Tinubu’s administration are attempting to insert clauses into the Medical and Dental Council law that would override the statutory powers of other regulatory bodies.

“They have regrouped through their colleagues in government to unilaterally propose executive amendment bills for all health professions.   

“These bills seek to centralise regulatory authority under medical practitioners, undermining the autonomy of other professional councils,” JOHESU claimed.

On laboratory practice in the country, JOHESU referenced a judgment of the National Industrial Court involving the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex and the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria in 2016. It said, the court held that medical laboratory science is an independent profession whose practitioners cannot be subordinated to another discipline in areas of competence.

JOHESU argued that attempts to subordinate laboratory scientists to medical practitioners would not only contravene judicial rulings but also destabilise the healthcare system.

“Medical doctors are seeking to redefine and subjugate the profession of medical laboratory science in Nigeria, to suit their parochial fancy,” the union declared. “It would be resisted as apartheid was resisted in South Africa.”

The body stressed the independent authority of PCN to regulate education, training, licensing, inspection, and discipline across the pharmaceutical value chain; warning that weakening its autonomy could undermine drug safety and public health. It demands that the governing board of the Pharmacy Council must reflect professional expertise rather than “community interest” representation.  

JOHESU also criticised provisions in the proposed Medical and Dental Practitioners Bill 2026, particularly Section 42 subsections 3 and 4 of HB 2695, arguing that the bill, which seeks to repeal the Medical and Dental Practitioner Acts, Cap M8 LFN 2004, and enact a new law, failed to define what constitutes a prescription in Nigeria.

The union warned that the bill undermines the Community Health Practitioners Act by expressly forbidding Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs), trained by government to prescribe in Primary Healthcare facilities, from performing their duties.  It noted that the bill obstructs emerging global practices where pharmacists and other trained professionals are authorised to prescribe certain medicines to reduce waiting times in healthcare systems.

“In more specific terms, this section becomes a stumbling block to global trends of pharmacists and other cadres of health professionals lawfully charged to prescribe certain categories of drugs,” JOHESU stated. “This continues to expand for efficiency, particularly with regards to reducing waiting time in health systems worldwide.”

JOHESU argued that the National Assembly should not legislate on issues already before the courts. According to the body, any litigation related to earlier disputes remains on appeal, making legislative action premature and potentially contrary to parliamentary rules.

The union referenced the case instituted by MDCAN (FHC/ABJ/CS/559/2018), which was dismissed but is presently subject to litigation at the Court of Appeal in Abuja. “It would be in contravention of the rule of the National Assembly to legislate on a matter before a court of competent jurisdiction,” JOHESU warned.

“Medical and dental practitioners are seeking to deceive the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly to amend these laws to secure what they could not prove in court,” it claimed, as it urged the National Assembly to reject any amendment that would centralise regulatory authority under one profession, insisting that such a move would spell doom for the health sector, destabilising the delicate balance of multidisciplinary collaboration.

“For JOHESU, the matter is not just about professional autonomy but about safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s healthcare system.”