ACPN Plea to President Tinubu: Ending Physicians' Dominance in Nigeria's Healthcare Sector

The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has sent a passionate appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, highlighting the entrenched culture of physician dominance in Nigeria's health and education sectors. The ACPN expressed alarm over the marginalization of non-physician professionals in leadership roles and decision-making bodies, a trend it warns is undermining national development. Recent incidents, including the nullification of a Vice Chancellor's appointment at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, have further strained relations between physicians and other health professionals.

Key Takeaways:

• The ACPN accused government ministries and regulatory agencies of enabling physician dominance, leading to resentment and dysfunction within key institutions.
• In 2025, over 70 federal health institutions experienced widespread electricity outages, attributed to ineffective leadership and lack of professional hospital administrators.
• ACPN criticized the state of management in federal health institutions, calling for the reintroduction of professional hospital administrators as was the practice before 1995.
• A recent incident at the Specialist Hospital, Irua, saw a senior pharmacist punished for offering advice that contradicted the preferences of the hospital's physician CEO.
• The ACPN repeated its plea to President Tinubu to end favoritism and resistance to balanced representation in leadership and decision-making bodies.
• Anthony Oyawole, ACPN Lagos Board of Trustees member, highlighted physicians' legal actions to block legislation on non-physician professions and delay the passage of the National Health Act.
• Oyawole also criticized efforts to establish physician-centric medical universities, which undermine the autonomy of the NUC and violate academic standards.

Statistics:

• Over 70 federal health institutions experienced widespread electricity outages in 2025.
• Physicians who double as lecturers and consultants earn over N2.6 million monthly, while non-physician professionals are capped at under N700,000.
• A broader pattern of institutional exclusion has denied qualified professionals in other fields the right to attain consultant status.
• 2015 saw the establishment of the National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG), calling for transparency and inclusiveness in drug procurement.

Sources:

• A letter signed by Ambrose Eze, ACPN National President, addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
• The ACPN Lagos Board of Trustees member, Anthony Oyawole's statement on the influence of physicians.
• The National Universities Commission (NUC) guidelines on academic criteria for leadership positions.
• The National Health Act (NHAct) of 2015.