Full Text: AMLSN Press Release on Babajide Salako Appointment (Read here)
19th February 2024.
1. On Thursday, February 15th, 2024, the Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Mr. Ajuri Ngelale in a Press Statement announced that Dr. Babajide Salako, (CEO at Dialysis Care Centers Inc, Homer, Illinois, USA) is the new Chairperson, Board of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN).
2. We, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria (AMLSN), object and reject the said appointment because it is a breach of the Law establishing the Council. By all standards and by the Act CAP (M25) LFN 2004 (Act 11 of 2003) that created MLSCN, Dr. Babajide Salako does not qualify for such position.
Section 3 (1) (a) of the law, Act CAP (M25) LFN 2004 (Act 11 of 2003), duly enacted by the NASS and signed by the then President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, defined clearly the qualifications of who can be appointed as the Chairman of the Board of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN). The Law, Section 3, Subsection 1(a) of the Act CAP (M25) LFN 2004 states thus:
3 — (1) There is established for the Council a Governing Board (in this Act referred to as “the Board”) consisting of —
(a)a chairman who shall be a qualified Fellow of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria with 5 years post qualification experience and shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister from a list of names of the Fellows submitted by the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria (in this Act referred to as “the Association”)
AMLSN Press Release
3. Dr. Babajide Salako does not fulfill the above credentials enunciated in Section 3, Subsection 1(a) of the Act CAP (M25) LFN 2004 (Act 11 of 2003). We are therefore shocked at the brazen violation of the above section of the LAW without recourse to the List of names submitted by the Association in compliance with the law (Section 3, Subsection 1(a-g) of the Act CAP (M25) LFN 2004 to the Honourable Coordinating Minister, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
4. Despite the law, the well-known tradition usually adhered to for such appointments dictates that only a doctor must head the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria; a pharmacist for the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria; and ditto for the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Why had a doctor been appointed as Chairperson of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria instead of a medical laboratory scientist? What is the basis for the shift from the Law, the noble tradition, and why now?
WHO DUNNIT?
5. We are aware that Dr. Babajide Salako’s purported appointment as Chairperson Board of MLSCN is not unconnected with his relationship with the Minister of State, Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, his classmate and close friend.
6. Dr. Tunji Alausa is said to be a friend of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but this attempt by Dr. Alausa to appoint his friend Dr. Salako at all costs as Chairperson of the MLSCN is a step capable of truncating all the good intentions of Mr. President in the health sector.
7. For clarity, the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) was established for the purpose of regulating the training, practice, and practitioners of the medical laboratory science profession in Nigeria Act CAP (M25) LFN 2004 (Act 11 of 2003).
AMLSN Press Release
8. Regulation safeguards patient safety and quality of service according to international standards, but Dr Babajide Salako is not an expert in medical laboratory regulation and does not have any certification in medical laboratory science.
9. Foisting Dr. Salako on MLSCN and in a high position for which he lacks the qualifications or experience is a sure step towards destroying medical laboratory testing in Nigeria.
AMLSN POSITION
10. Thus, we object and reject the attempt to impose an unqualified individual on the Council and invite all well-meaning citizens to condemn this gambit that would put Nigeria citizen’s lives at risk.
APPEAL TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (NASS)
11. We call on the NASS to investigate the appointment of Dr. Babajide Salako as Chairman of the Governing Board of MLSCN. The message conveyed by the purported appointment is simply that laws made by the legislature and duly signed by the President can be disobeyed by highly placed government officials only to achieve private goals.
APPEAL TO ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION (AGF)
12. Accordingly, we are calling on the Attorney General of the Federation to guide the Presidency, the Coordinating Minister of Health, and his subordinate, Dr. Alausa. Imposing an unqualified individual as Chairperson of the Medical Laboratory Science Council will plunge the sector into murky waters of controversy and catastrophe.
APPEAL TO MR. PRESIDENT
13. We call on Mr. President, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, a democrat per excellence, and the Presidency to urgently take recourse to the relevant sections of the Act Cap (M25) LFN 2004 (Act 11 of 2003) as referenced above and correct itself so as not to be seen to be deliberately undermining the law.
14. We appeal to Mr. President and hence the Presidency to immediately retract the announcement of Dr. Babajide Salako as a purported Chairperson Board of MLSCN without any attempt to inaugurate him.
15. Thereafter, the President is requested to investigate the circumstances that led to this violation of the law and apply appropriate sanctions against those responsible for embarrassing the Presidency and government.
16. We hope that the above-listed steps and pleas will be acted upon to avert any further action of the Association in seeking redress.
ULTIMATUM
17. The new AMSLN leadership is determined to promote industrial harmony.
18. Our pleas here are predicated on the interest of the rule of law and avoidance of schism in the governance and regulatory mandate of the MLSCN.
19. However, if this untoward situation is not redressed now, AMLSN will be unable to guarantee the availability of quality medical laboratory testing in Nigeria, both in private and public.
20. We call on all our members to remain calm but on the alert for the next line of action.
AMLSN Press Release
21. We are convinced that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will do the needful.
END.
Sign:
Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, Ph.D., FWAPCMLS
The 15th National President, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN).
