Disquiet Over NSIWC Circular On Medical And Dental Officers’ Allowances

The recent circular purportedly issued by the National Salary Income and Wages Commission to address the consequential adjustment of allowances under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for medical and dental practitioners in Nigeria is no doubt in bad taste.

The NSIWC’s action could trigger the country into another round of needless industrial action, which would have a debilitating effect on a health sector already on life support.

At this point in our national life, the issue of improved welfare for doctors and other health workers is not something to toy with, especially given the manpower shortage that has adversely affected the quality of healthcare delivery.

Poor remuneration and working conditions in the country’s health sector have led to a mass exodus of doctors and nurses from the country’s health sector abroad.

World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics indicate that at least 2,000 Nigerian doctors emigrate yearly in search of greener pastures in Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other hotspots worldwide.

The mass departure of doctors has adversely strained the healthcare system, leading to longer wait times and potentially compromising patient care.

Reports said that because of the exodus, Nigeria can only boast slightly above 55,000 doctors for a population of 220 million. This development has created a doctor-to-population ratio of 3.9 per 10,000, which is far below the WHO recommendation of 1:1,000.

Despite this anomaly, through agencies like NSIWC, Nigeria’s government is bent on compounding the challenges that have hitherto negatively impacted effective healthcare delivery.

The recent circular by NSIWC (SWC/S/04/S.218/III/646), dated 27 June 2025, has understandably drawn the ire of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, and other allied bodies.

NMA, in its widely circulated position, condemned the circular, describing it as not only misleading but constituting a flagrant violation of the spirit and letter of the agreements painstakingly reached during the collective bargaining process between its representative and that of the Federal Government.

“We want to bring this to the attention of Mr President, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), the National Assembly and the general public whom we are under oath to always protect and promote their wellbeing.

“We reject this new circular in its entirety and demand a new circular that reflects previous agreements reached. The principles of fairness and justice must be applied in adjusting allowances as agreed in the past,” it noted.

It is imperative for all to rise up against NSIWC’s action in a bid to save the country from another round of unrest and mass exodus that the gesture could trigger.

It is sad that NSIWC could take a decision on issues as sensitive as allowances and emoluments of a critical segment of society without their input.

More worrisome is NMA’s revelation that NSIWC even discarded its position on the 2001, 2009, and 2014 CBAs, agreements reached between it and the federal government. Such arbitrariness by a government agency in a democratic era like ours is an aberration.

Therefore, the federal government should withdraw the circular immediately and implement all agreements it had reached with NMA and other allied bodies earlier.

There is also a need for a multifaceted approach focused on improving working conditions, increasing compensation and benefits, investing in training and development, reforming the healthcare system, and potentially attracting diaspora professionals.

The government should also tackle the rising insecurity that puts health workers at risk of kidnapping at their duty posts and residences, amongst other long-term measures.

~ Ahmed is a retired staff of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).