LAGOS—National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, NPMCN, weekend faulted President Muhammadu Buhari on the dissolution of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, saying, the dissolution will not only promote quackery in the health sector but will also allow cases of malpractices to continue unabated.
At a press conference in Lagos to
herald the College’s 33rd convocation, the President of NPMCN, Prof. Rasheed
Arogundade argued that MDCN should be exempted like the Universities Governing
Councils have been exempted because of the disastrous consequences that such
premature dissolutions had caused in the past.
According to Arogundade, since MDCN
is a regulatory body set up by statute to carry out specific functions,
dissolving it is the same as completely stopping all the functions.
He said: “The Council’s functions
are strictly professional and regulatory in nature, including medical
education, accreditation of professional institutions, maintenance of
standards, and enforcement of discipline and also monitoring of health institutions
that are training doctors all over the country among others.
“Almost all the members of the
Council are by representation except the Chairman who is usually not a
political appointee but a senior member of the profession appointed by Mr
President.”
Arogundade further lamented that the
existing Council has barely spent one and half years of the statutory four
years and should therefore be allowed to continue its work.
On the forthcoming convocation, the
College President said no fewer than 341 convokees will be awarding Fellowship
certificates this week.
He further disclosed that the
college has graduated 5,046 since inception, adding that College will be
awarding Honorary fellowship to the Governor of Ondo state for his achievements
in the health sector while Prof. Emmanuel Otolorin, an erudite scholar and
professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology will deliver the convocation lecture.
Arogundade who lamented poor funding
of the institution said the college has not been able to complete all the
buildings in the original master plan due to lack of funds.
“We have not received one kobo for
the only capital project in the college since the third quarter of 2014.
The amount budgeted for us this year
in the envelope is just N20 million out of the required N506, 037,218,75k
remaining from the sum N599, 964, 877.89K approved by the Ministerial Tenders
Board to complete the project. It is even uncertain that the paltry N20,
000,000 appropriated will be released this year as we are already at the end of
the 3rd quarter.”
He however, declared support for the
President on his ongoing anti-corruption crusade.
Arogundade commended Buhari for the
giant strides he has made in less than four months on assumption of office.
According to him, corruption has
negative effect in every aspect of the economy.
He said through the ongoing effort,
huge money would be saved, which is needed to revatilise every sector of the
country’s economy, particularly the health sector.
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