09/08/2025
*Health* *News*
Pharmacists slam NMA’s ‘hostility' over health sector reforms.
August 7, 2025
The Nigeria chapter of the West Africa Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP ) has condemned recent statements by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), describing them as regressive, hostile and a direct affront to professional growth and patient safety in the country’s health sector.
This was contained in a rejoinder issued via a statement signed by the chairman of the chapter, Dr Margaret Obono, following a communique from the Lagos State chapter of the NMA and the 2025 Annual Delegates Meeting (ADM) in Katsina, which opposed the implementation of the Consultant Pharmacist cadre.
According to Dr Obono, the NMA’s reaction, published in a national daily on May 8, 2025, was not only combative in tone but also laced with misinformation and fallacious arguments.
“We initially thought the letter was a social media hoax. Its language was uncharacteristically aggressive, filled with misconceptions and ‘street language’ unbecoming of a professional body like the NMA,” she said.
The pharmacists’ body raised the alarm at the NMA’s open disapproval of a policy approved by the National Council on Establishment (NCE), a statutory body responsible for professional reforms in Nigeria’s public service.
“The NMA’s claim that the consultant cadre for pharmacists is illegal is an affront to the Federal Government itself,” Dr Obono noted, questioning the NMA’s authority to challenge government policy implementation at institutions such as the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute Metta and FNPH, Yaba.
Citing examples of the NMA’s combative posture, Dr Obono pointed to threats made against Medical Directors implementing the cadre and the association’s claim that consultant pharmacists offer “no clinical value.”
Read more in the comment section 👇👇👇
