Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has harshly criticized the Federal Government’s new agreement to send Nigerian doctors and professionals to Saint Lucia, calling it an insult to struggling health workers at home.
This outrage comes just a day after President Bola Tinubu signed a bilateral agreement to deploy teachers, agriculturists, and health workers to the Caribbean island.
Ironically, it followed the NMA’s issuance of a 21-day ultimatum demanding improved pay and working conditions for Nigerian doctors.
In a statement posted Thursday on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle and signed by Secretary General Dr. Benjamin Egbo, the NMA accused the government of double standards—lavishly funding doctors sent abroad while underpaying and neglecting those serving within Nigeria.
The association revealed stark salary disparities: doctors posted to Saint Lucia will earn up to ₦40.8 million annually, funded by Nigeria’s government.
In contrast, their counterparts working in Nigerian hospitals earn a meager ₦11.9 million.
Worse still, doctors employed directly by the Saint Lucian government reportedly make as much as ₦131.7 million per year.
“This is a deeply troubling contradiction,” said Dr. Egbo. “Our doctors are battling burnout, stress, and even death while serving a broken system—yet the government chooses to polish its global image at our expense.”
He highlighted ongoing issues like unpaid allowances, unsafe working environments, unimplemented welfare agreements, and unfair salary structures such as the uneven application of CONMESS (Consolidated Medical Salary Structure).
Reinforcing the 21-day ultimatum first issued on July 2, the NMA demanded the government:
Withdraw and replace the controversial NSIWC circular;
Implement all signed collective bargaining agreements;
Resolve salary distortions and outstanding allowances;
Respect doctors’ professional autonomy and dignity.
While recognizing the value of international partnerships, the NMA warned that sending health workers abroad without first addressing domestic healthcare woes is both “morally indefensible and harmful.”
“This move only worsens the ongoing brain drain and undermines national health security,” Dr. Egbo emphasized.
To drive home their point, the association attached a salary comparison chart to their release and urged the government to urgently reconsider its misplaced priorities.
