Minister of labour and employment Chris Ngige says medical doctors and other health workers trained for free in Nigeria should be conditioned to work for nine years before they can relocate.
Ngige, who is a medical doctor, stated this at the 2022 budget defence of his ministry at the House of Representatives on Wednesday in Abuja.
“Medical education in Nigeria is almost free. Where else in the world is it free? The presidential committee on health should come with a proposal for bonding doctors, nurses, medical laboratory scientists and other health workers, so that they don’t just carry their bags and walk out of their country at will when they were trained at no cost,” Ngige was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the ministry’s spokesman Charles Akpan.
“In London, it is 45,000 pounds a session for medical education in cheap in universities. If you go to Edinburgh or Oxford, you pay $80,000. If you go to USA you pay $45,000 but if you go to the Ivy leagues, you pay $90,000 for only tuition, excluding lodging. You do it for six years. So, people in America take loans.
“We can make provisions for loans and you pay back. If government will train you for free, we should bond you. You serve the country for nine years before you go anywhere.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has given a waiver for employment in health, defence and paramilitary to ensure that those who leave for greener pastures are replaced.
Ngige explained that the waiver was granted by the government despite an embargo on recruitment into public service.
