The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) has warned President Muhammadu Buhari not to ignore other health professionals in the appointment of ministers.
Currently, the two Ministers of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole and Dr. Osagie Ehinare are medical doctors.
MHWUN National President, Com. Biobelemoye Josiah said subsequently, one of the ministers can be a medical doctor, while the other can be from any of the other professions within the medical sector.
Josiah spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the 10th National Quadrennial delegates conference of the Union.
He said: “As long as the appointment of ministers of Health, Directors in the ministry of health and the Chief Executives of health institutions remain the birthright of one profession, to the exclusion of other health professionals in the team, turbulence and inefficiency shall continue to thrive as they are not trained for such duties, their discriminatory approach would continue to invite protestations from other members of the health team who are in the majority.
“As long as government does not make conscious efforts to break this monopoly by the medical doctors, a monopoly that is self-serving, Nigerians would continue to suffer for it.
“As an immediate action to put confidence into Nigerians, the appointment of Ministers in the ministry must not necessarily be to only health professionals in order to halt politics of exclusion that has taken taproots in the ministry.
“We believe the appointments of both doctors and other health professionals as ministers, or the mixing of appointments of both doctors and other health professionals as ministers in the Ministry of Health would go a long way in boosting the confidence of the operators/ stakeholders in the ministry”.
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