The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has told the Federal Government that the scramble for enrolment for National Identification Number (NIN) is a contradiction and an aberration to the prevention of COVID-19 in the country.
President of NMA, Prof. Innocent Ujah, at a press conference, yesterday, in Jos, Plateau State, noted that registration for NIN is not an emergency like COVID-19. He said the enrolment should be suspended for now, warning that its continuity would aggravate coronavirus infection in the country.
According to him, crowding of people in one place in the name of registering for NIN will be a disaster.
“This NIN exercise should be suspended for now. Crowding in one place for the exercise will increase the death of people from COVID-19. Suspending the NIN exercise will not lead to death. The exercise can resurface later, after it has come down,” Ujah said.
He disclosed that the association is clamouring for use of the doctors’ stamp to authenticate all medical reports in Nigeria so as to reduce the number of quacks in the health industry.
“This has been very effective among lawyers through the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and we are sure that it will be successfully implemented by NMA. If all medical reports are authenticated by affixing doctors’ stamp, it will go a long way towards reducing quackery in Plateau State.”
Ujah said the state NMA had been given a unique opportunity to host the 2021 general conference and delegates’ meeting, which it was to host in 2020 but was truncated by the coronavirus pandemic.
During question and answer session, Ujah said it was not easy to emerge president of the association at a time of ravaging COVID-19. According to him, the NMA invoked a doctrine of necessity to hold the election.
Ujah explained that since the outbreak of COVID-19, members of the association had been assisting government, during which some members had paid the supreme sacrifice.
“If you are going to war, you have to go with ammunition, otherwise you lose the battle. But nobody prepared for the disease. At a time, doctors went on strike because there was no Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and there was no hazard allowance,” he stressed.
The NMA boss, who advised the Federal Government and state governments to go for oxygen plant, said the much-talked about vaccines against coronavirus, though are 95 per cent safe and effective, would still be validated and documented.
