Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has disclosed that the legislature is working to ensure that Nigeria does not keep losing medical doctors to other countries.
Gbajabiamila spoke on Thursday when some members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) led by Emeka Orji, the president, paid him a visit at the national assembly.
He stated that the number of doctors leaving the country is “very scary”, adding that “definitely something must be wrong”.
“You have identified that to be the issue of emoluments and salaries, that’s always a very important issue. If you work, you must get paid, and you must get paid a good salary,” he said.
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Gbajabiamila, however, said while it is important to provide better welfare for doctors, the country is facing a revenue shortfall.
“This is a worldwide phenomenon, right now everything is going down. Countries are not making as much revenue as they should. And I’m sure a lot of doctors that leave the shores of Nigeria in search of greener pastures, many of them will be happy, many of them will also realise it’s not so easy on the other side either,” he said.
“What I would like to encourage you to do is to tarry a while, be a little bit more patient, and stay. As long as you have our ears here as your legislature, we will always, as best as possible, come to your aid.
“So, let’s put a stop to this brain drain as best as we can whilst we, on this side, try to make the environment a lot easier for you.”
