The College of Nigerian Pathologists (CNP) says “political and commercial experts” deployed by the federal and states governments have hijacked jobs of Nigerian medical practitioners in the fight against coronavirus in the country.
The President of College of Nigerian Pathologists (CNP), Professor Philip Olatunji said this while addressing newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Wednesday.
Olatunji accused the federal and states governments of deliberate neglect of medical practitioners.
He queried the Federal government’s insistence on bringing the Chinese medical experts into the country against an outcry from the public and major stakeholders, like the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
Olatunji insisted that there was no need to bring the Chinese doctors to Nigeria, arguing that the number of patients in Nigeria has not expanded more than the number of available doctors in the country.
He alleged that health workers working in the front line are being exposed to risk without adequate provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
He said, “Sadly, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the apex body of medical doctors and Medical and Dental Consultants Association, a body of specialist doctors are complaining of being sidelined, while the Pathologists are left out of the laboratories.
“Political and commercial experts are being imported by internal collaborators to take thE place of technical and professional experts. What manner of intervention can this be?”
He added that “Equally sad is the fact that our policymakers would appear to be deliberately sidelining our well-trained professionals and experts and making bogus announcements over the television and radio.”
“Those of us who they are forced to accommodate are working under harsh conditions, without insurance, in spite of the danger to which they are exposed.”
The CNP called on government at all levels to take advantage of the COVID-19 opportunity “to reset our button and prioritise healthcare.”
“No country can be truly developed if its healthcare system is underdeveloped. This will not be the last pandemic, another will come.
“We must be prepared, our public health infrastructure, our laboratories and our healthcare workforce must be rebuilt so that the weakest among us has access to good healthcare,” Olatunji added.
He also urged the government to intensify its efforts at combating the spread of coronavirus.
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