Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has been plunged into a deepening leadership crisis, with the Lagos State chapter suspending its Secretary, Dr. Jimoh Hassan, and several members of the State Officers Committee over what the leadership described as an “unconstitutional gathering.” The disciplinary action, announced after an emergency State Executive Council meeting, stems from a disputed meeting convened on April 18 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). The SEC found the suspended members to have violated the association’s constitution and the rules guiding the Lagos branch. “The actions of Dr. Jimoh Hassan and others violated relevant provisions of NMA Lagos State Rules and Regulations, and the Constitution of the Nigerian Medical Association,” the branch chairman, Dr. Saheed Babajide Kehinde, said in a statement. He added that the council took the decision unanimously to preserve the integrity of the association and enforce internal discipline. Following the suspension, the Deputy Secretary, Dr. Olusola Soyinka Jnr, was immediately appointed as Acting Secretary.
The leadership crisis in the Lagos branch, however, has two distinct but intertwined fronts. On the same day that the SEC moved against the secretary, a separate group of doctors also claimed to have removed Kehinde as chairman, replacing him with Dr. Temidire Ewonowo. The purported removal, which Kehinde rejected as “unconstitutional and without legal basis,” took place at an Emergency General Meeting where the former chairman was accused of repeated violations of the association’s rules. Ewonowo, who was the first vice-chairman before the action, argued that the constitution mandates that when a chairman is removed, the first vice-chairman automatically becomes the substantive chairman. He insisted that the meeting had the required quorum of 112 members and nine affiliate heads, far above the constitutional minimum. Kehinde, however, has maintained that he remains the legitimate chairman, describing the move as “null, void, and of no effect.”
The local crisis is unfolding against a backdrop of a full-blown civil war at the national level. On April 23, an Emergency Delegates Meeting (EDM) in Abuja voted to suspend the NMA National President, Professor Bala Audu, and his entire National Officers Committee. The meeting, attended by 63 delegates from 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory, passed a unanimous vote of no confidence in the leadership, accusing it of “impunity and arrogance” and “high-handed conduct.” Specifically, the NOC was accused of unconstitutionally disqualifying six candidates from contesting in the upcoming national elections scheduled for the Annual General Meeting in Kano. In a sweeping resolution, the delegates reversed the disqualification of the affected candidates and constituted a three-man caretaker committee led by former Secretary-General, Dr. Ekpe Phillips, to oversee the affairs of the association.
The Audu-led leadership has vehemently rejected the suspension, describing the EDM and its resolutions as “unconstitutional and procedurally flawed.” At a press briefing in Abuja, the NMA Secretary-General, Dr. Benjamin Egbo, insisted that Audu remains the legitimate head of the association. “The NMA remains united under the leadership of Professor Bala Audu. There is no faction,” Egbo said. He argued that the EDM lacks the constitutional authority to suspend a sitting president and that due process was not followed. He traced the crisis to the disqualification of the six candidates, which he said was based on incomplete documentation. Addressing speculation of unrest, Egbo clarified that security operatives only cordoned off the national secretariat in response to threats of disruption by suspected thugs, not because it had been sealed following the suspension.
The crisis in Lagos is directly linked to the national turmoil. The April 18 meeting at LUTH, which led to the suspension of the Lagos secretary, is described by the Kehinde-led leadership as part of a broader plot. Meanwhile, the Kehinde-led faction in Lagos has condemned the Abuja meeting as “illegal, reckless, and highly unprofessional,” stating that any decisions from that gathering are “null, void, and of no consequence whatsoever.” The statement accused the organisers of prioritising “personal political ambition over the welfare and professional interests of Nigerian doctors.” This has created a bewildering scenario where the suspended Lagos secretary aligns with the group that suspended the national president, while the embattled Lagos chairman pledges his loyalty to the suspended national leadership.
As the various factions dig in, the association faces a critical test with its Annual General Meeting scheduled to hold in Kano from April 27 to May 3. The Audu-led leadership has confirmed the meeting will proceed as planned, though it maintains that one of the disqualified candidates will remain barred. The legitimacy of the gathering and the elections it is meant to conduct remain in question. The crisis has also attracted attention from outside the medical profession. The Elegant Nurses Forum called for the reversal of the removal of Kehinde, describing the action against the Lagos chairman as “unconstitutionally motivated interference.” The Committee of Past Presidents of the NMA has waded into the controversy, urging all parties to de-escalate and adhere strictly to the constitution.
The NMA, founded in 1951 and one of Africa’s largest medical associations, has weathered internal storms before, but the current crisis is considered by many as the most severe in a decade. With the suspension of both the national president and the officers of its most important state branch, and with the annual elections just days away, the path to a peaceful resolution appears unclear. What remains to be seen is which faction security and electoral officials will recognise when doctors gather in Kano next week. For now, the association slides closer to open institutional collapse, even as the country’s fragile public health system struggles under immense pressure.
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