In a bid to rid the country of medical practitioners who parade foreign
earned certificates but are not adequately qualified, the Medical and
Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), in July 2012, announced that no
foreign trained Doctor will be allowed to practice in Nigeria from
October 2012, except incontrovertible evidence is provided to prove that
he or she could have practised in their country of study.
In keeping true to their words, the council recently organised an
assessment test for such Doctors and out of 200 of them who sat for the
tests, only 94 of them (Doctors and Dentists) reportedly ame out
unscathed.
The MDCN registrar, Dr Udugbai Ilevbare, said the council wanted only
practitioners “who are fit in terms of academic and other relevant
conditions are registered to practice medicine and dentistry in
Nigeria.”
He added that the council did not “want to unleash on unsuspecting
Nigerian practitioners who are not well trained” and welcomed the
successful doctors.
Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, who spoke at their
induction into the council, said the new crops of professionals stood to
boost key human resources for health needed to realise the country’s
national strategic health development plan.
