The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, MDCAN, has challenged the competence of the National Industrial Court, NIC, to appoint non-medical doctors as consultants.
Consequently, the association has urged the court to invalidate its earlier judgement which appointed nonmedical doctors as consultants
A panel of three judges of the court headed by Justice Babatunde Adejumo had on July 22 granted an order affirming the appointments of some of the non-medical doctors as consultants.
But in its post-judgement application dated October 9, MDCAN asked the court to declare the judgement "null and void".
It predicated the application on provisions of sections 6(1), 6(6)(a & b), 36(1) of the constitution and sections 12 & 14 of the National Industrial Court Act 2006; Order 5, Rules 2(1 &2) and 3; Order 15, Order 19, Rule 18 (1&2) and Order 25, Rules 4 & 6 of the NIC Rules, 2007.
Through its lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, MDCAN argued that failure to join it as a necessary party in the suit which led to the judgement amounted to being "denied fair hearing".
It also argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit because the reliefs sought bordered on "appointment of non-medically qualified health professionals as consultants in Federal Government institutions and the rights of such appointees to receive specialist allowances".
An affidavit in support of the suit deposed to by Dr. O. S. A. Oluwole stated that: "This application is of extreme urgency and it ought to be determined timely in the interest of care of patients."
Those whose appointments as consultants were affirmed by the court but in the view of MDCAN "are not medically qualified", include nurses, pharmacists and members of senior staff of teaching hospitals and research institutes.
Others are medical technologists and members of non-academic staff of educational and associated institutions.
Source: Medical union challenges court ruling on consultants' appointment (http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/medical-union-challenges-court-ruling-on-consultants-appointment/)