Doctors in Benue State are not smiling—again. And this time, it’s not about patients turning to Google for self-diagnosis. It’s the Federal Government’s new circular on salary adjustments for medical and dental officers that has the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) fuming.
Over the weekend, the Benue State chapter of the NMA held an emergency congress. The outcome? A thunderous rejection of the pay review circular recently issued from Abuja. According to them, the new directive isn’t just unfair—it’s “injurious and demeaning.”
In a strongly worded statement signed by the association’s Public Relations Officer, Dr. Martins Tersoo Chuwan, the NMA Benue did not mince words.
“Congress expressed displeasure with the federal government’s injurious and demeaning circular on review of allowances for Medical and Dental Officers in the federal public service,” the statement read. “The NMA, amidst the profound pain her members suffer due to poor remuneration and reckless actions of the federal government, aligns completely with NMA National for a total and comprehensive shutdown of the health sector at all government facilities.”
That’s not just medical talk—that’s a serious threat of nationwide strike action.
Doctors say their pockets are already suffering, and the new circular feels like pouring salt into an open wound. They insist that what the government calls a “review” is actually a reduction dressed in bureaucracy.
“Doctors are not magicians,” one NMA member said off record. “You can’t expect us to keep saving lives when our own livelihoods are gasping for breath.”
For many young medical professionals in Benue—and across Nigeria—this struggle is nothing new. The “Japa” trend, where doctors migrate abroad for better pay and working conditions, is still very much alive. This latest government move, according to the NMA, will only make things worse.
One frustrated young doctor quipped, “Even NEPA staff get more job security than we do these days. At least NEPA has light sometimes!”
The NMA is not just fighting for pay. They argue that without proper incentives, Nigeria’s health system will continue to bleed talent. It’s not just doctors threatening to leave the country—many are already halfway out the door. From Lagos to London, Abuja to Alberta, the white coats are boarding flights.
Benue NMA says the federal government must act fast to avoid total collapse of public healthcare services. They’ve warned that unless the circular is withdrawn and their demands met, they will fully support the national body’s call for a total shutdown of government hospitals across Nigeria.
And if that happens, it’s the ordinary Nigerian who will suffer—again.
This is not the first time the NMA has raised its voice, but perhaps this time, it’s louder. With elections around the corner and healthcare hanging by a thread, the government may want to rethink its position before it ends up treating a crisis it could’ve prevented.
Because let’s face it—when the doctors are unhappy, the whole nation feels the fever.
🩺 Nigerians love to say “health is wealth,” but if doctors aren’t paid, even that proverb may need a review.
