The Federal Government has offered the reason why the 47 Nigerian medical students who fled Sudan in the heat of the war in the country are yet to be given the nod by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to sit for its examination.
The students had claimed the reason for their being denied sitting for the examination was because they do not have the proper documentation.
They said the MDCN demanded for their entry and exit documentation from the country, which they reported they do not have because their passports were left behind in Sudan when they fled.
But the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said the challenge confronting the students goes beyond the demand for their entry and exit evidence.
Dabiri-Erewa, who reacted to an inquiry from The Eagle Online, said the Federal Government was in touch with MDCN from the onset as the 47 students returned from Sudan.
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She said: “We had been in touch with MDCN since the return of the students.”
She, however, said that the demand by the regulatory body for Medicine and Dentistry in Nigeria that was established by the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act goes beyond the stamping out and in Nigeria of the students.
The Act that established the MDCN had been operational since December 18, 1963, and updated under the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The council’s statutory functions include setting and reviewing standards for medical and dental education.
Section 9(3) and (4) of the Act empowers the council to conduct assessment exams for holders of foreign medical or dental qualifications recognised by their countries of origin.
Candidates expected to sit for these examinations are trained outside Nigeria at institutions listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools.
One of the application requirements is submitting relevant portions of international passports, including visa and arrival/departure stamps.
However, Dabiri-Erewa said things have gone beyond that.
She said the MDCN was considering the suitability of the students based on the quality of education they received.
She told The Eagle Online in a WhatApp response to an enquiry in the early hours of Sunday: “They (MDCN) assured that they will do everything they can without compromising the profession, which you know, deals with human lives.
“They had told us in the past that the issue was more about ensuring that those they register FULLY qualify to be registered, not about the circumstances surrounding them.
“These are students that will be dealing with human lives.
“So the council assured that they will register ALL who fulfill all their criteria, irrespective of the circumstances of study, eg COVID, Ukraine, Sudan wars.”
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