The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene in what it described as systemic marginalisation of non-physician professionals in the health and education sectors.
In an open letter by its National Chairman, Pharm. Ambrose Igwekamma Ezeh, and National Secretary, Omokhafe Ashore, the ACPN decried events at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), where physician-lecturers reportedly embarked on strike over the selection of a Vice-Chancellor.
The association also cited a similar protest at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), where physicians resisted the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor without a medical background, despite regulations that stipulate a Ph.D. as the minimum requirement for such positions.
The association accused the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) and other physician-led unions of routinely using strikes to intimidate the government into making appointments that favour their members, even when those appointments contradict laid-down rules.
The pharmacists warned that this trend has reached alarming levels, encouraged by the appointment of physicians as ministers in key sectors.
“The Federal Ministry of Education, under a most inexperienced leadership, is systematically promoting a flurry of Universities of Medicine while insisting that only physicians can serve as Vice Chancellors,” the letter stated.
The ACPN criticised what it described as a culture of blackmail among physician groups who go on strike whenever Ph.D. requirements for academic leadership positions are enforced, arguing that many physicians hold fellowships rather than academic doctorates.
Turning to the health sector, the pharmacists lamented what they described as decades of exclusion and poor management of Federal Health Institutions (FHIs).
They alleged that since 1985, only physicians have been appointed as Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) of FHIs based on a narrow interpretation of the term ‘medically qualified’, to the detriment of other healthcare professionals.
“Most CMDs are part-time academics but enjoy full-time leadership roles at hospitals, an abuse of public service rules,” the group argued.
It also referenced the 2023 law passed by the National Assembly without a public hearing, which mandates that only those registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) can be appointed as MD/CEOs of Federal Medical Centres.
The association said these policies have led to institutional failure, pointing to a recent electricity crisis in which many FHIs were left without power due to unpaid bills.
“None of the CEOs could devise sustainable alternatives. This is why we need trained hospital administrators to manage our hospital system, as was the case before 1995,” they said.
The community pharmacists also cited a case at the Irrua Specialist Hospital, where a senior pharmacist was allegedly punished for offering lawful advice on how drug-revolving funds (DRFs) should be managed.
The pharmacist was reassigned to a rural outpost while a less senior colleague was installed in his place.
When the matter was escalated, the ACPN claimed, the Federal Ministry of Health sent an investigation team dominated by physicians, who unsurprisingly cleared the CEO.
According to the ACPN, such incidents are now common across FHIs, where DRF schemes are often mismanaged, and pharmacists’ roles are deliberately undermined.
On broader health policy issues, the pharmacists pointed to the nation’s weak primary healthcare and health insurance systems.
They accused the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) of sidelining community pharmacists despite their global recognition during the COVID-19 immunisation drive.
“Despite our success, the agency refused to engage us meaningfully, and the FMOH ignored our complaints,” the group said.
The ACPN also questioned the recent approval of MEDIPOOL, a government procurement initiative for medical supplies, without proper consultation with pharmaceutical stakeholders.
It called for the establishment of a Federal Drug Management Agency to ensure that drugs are procured and distributed efficiently, as outlined in the National Drug Distribution Guidelines of 2015.
The ACPN warned that Nigeria’s ambition to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) remains a mirage, as the key pillars, health insurance, primary care, and access to drugs, are sabotaged by poor policy and entrenched interests.
“The time to act is now, you must stop the incomprehensible dominance of an overpampered group of civil servants. National growth will continue to suffer unless this imbalance is corrected,” the association urged President Tinubu.
They further warned that the continued marginalisation of health workers and academic professionals outside the medical field is discouraging the next generation from entering those professions, adding, “Nobody wants to be an underdog anymore”.
The ACPN called for a shift in government appointments, urging the President to ensure merit-based, multidisciplinary leadership in both the education and health sectors.
