The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has formally appealed to President Bola Tinubu, requesting his urgent intervention in what they describe as the increasing dominance of medical doctors within Nigeria’s health and education sectors. The association warns that such practices are detrimental to both national development and inclusive governance.

In an open letter dated June 16, 2025, and signed by their National Chairman, Ambrose Ezeh, and Secretary, Omokhafe Ashore, the ACPN titled their plea, “Call off these bluffs in national interest.” The letter follows recent reports of industrial action by members of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) at the University of Calabar, who ceased work following the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor.

The pharmacists contend that the protest in Calabar is part of a broader pattern, citing a similar incident at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, where the Federal Ministry of Education reportedly nullified a Vice-Chancellor’s appointment after MDCAN members there went on strike.

The ACPN suggests that organisations like the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), MDCAN, and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have become increasingly assertive due to what they perceive as the federal government inadvertently fostering a “culture of fascism” in the health and labour sectors between 2015 and 2023.

This trend, they claim, has extended to the health and education sectors through the appointment of physician-ministers in these crucial portfolios.

The association noted a longstanding issue regarding leadership roles in federal health institutions. They stated that for four decades, since 1985, only physicians have been appointed as Chief Medical Directors or Medical Directors, stemming from what they view as a misinterpretation of eligibility criteria. They noted that eligibility, initially linked to being “medically qualified,” has been incorrectly interpreted to mean that only physicians meet this standard.

The ACPN also pointed to a specific concern with the Ninth National Assembly, alleging it “fraudulently passed a Federal Medical Centre bill later signed into law without public hearing” in 2023, which now “makes it mandatory that only personnel registered by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria can be appointed as MD/CEO of Federal Medical Centres.”

The ACPN expressed dismay over what they described as the “insultingly ancient methodologies of physicians in Nigeria” to create exclusive privileges. They asserted that with the “blessing of Education Minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa,” there is now a “thriving culture of blackmail to proceed on strike everytime there is a contest for the position of VCs and the rules which are grounded in having a Ph.D. as condition precedent is applied because most of these physicians have professional qualifications of fellowships and not Ph.Ds.”

The association criticised the federal government’s “ineptitude” in succumbing to what they termed “shameful blackmail,” which they claim leaves other qualified professionals sidelined.
Furthermore, the pharmacists voiced disappointment with the Federal Ministry of Health for what they see as insufficient involvement of pharmacists in key drug procurement initiatives, including the recent MEDIPOOL programme rollout. They reiterated their call for the establishment of a Federal Drug Management Agency to streamline drug procurement and distribution nationwide, arguing that achieving Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria remains elusive due to these systemic obstacles.

In their appeal to President Tinubu, the ACPN urged him to exercise his “stewardship responsibilities” and “change tactics in the skewed appointment of physicians who dominate sectors which are alien to medical practice.”

They warned that the perceived “humiliation health workers in healthcare are subjected to in deference to physicians is beginning to affect the psyche of youths.”

The association concluded by stating that “National growth, development, transformation and evolution will gradually become stunted if the Federal Government does not wield the big stick to stop the outrageously incomprehensible dominance of an overpampered group of civil servants who get what they request and are allowed to dictate a pittance for other skilled personnel in the Nigerian workforce.”

They stressed, “The time to act is now in the public interest.”

[Guardian]