The Federal Government has said that Nigerian doctors practising abroad are being underpriced when compared with their counterparts from other countries.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, disclosed this at a meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to a statement by the Deputy Director, of Communications, Muhammed Ahmed, Yemi-Esan urged the NMA to discourage doctors from seeking greener pastures abroad, saying that they were being lowly priced because of their large population.
She was quoted as describing the rate at which resident doctors travel abroad to practise without serving the country as a cause for concern.
The statement partly read, “As a panacea to the perennial brain drain occasioned by young medical doctors seeking greener pastures abroad, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, has advised the Nigerian Medical Association to ensure that young resident doctors are counselled, stressing that they need to be reminded that it is not a bed of roses out there and that the Nigerian government has done a lot for them by sponsoring their education.
“She expressed the view that the rate at which resident doctors travel abroad to practise without serving the country is a cause for concern, stating that the Nigerian Medical Association is a good platform to counsel them.
She added that Nigerian doctors abroad are underpriced when compared to their counterparts from other countries due to their large numbers.
“While responding to their demands for increased hazard allowances, Yemi-Esan urged them to be reasonable and inquired whether resident doctors in public corporations also do hazardous work. She went on to say that the government has done a lot for them, but she cautioned them to be cautious in their demands, keeping in mind dwindling government revenue and, most importantly, value addition to the polity.”
Earlier, the NMA President, Dr Uche Ojinmah, commended Yemi-Esan, for her “reformative contributions in positively repositioning the Federal Civil Service for greater performance and national economic growth.”