The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have called for an immediate end to hiring doctors as temporary or casual workers in public hospitals. They say this practice is unfair, cannot last long, and is one of the main reasons doctors are leaving Nigeria.
Both groups criticized how more and more doctors are being hired without job security, especially in state hospitals and teaching hospitals.
Hiring doctors temporarily, also known as “locum,” was first meant to be a short-term fix to help hospitals cope with staff shortages.
The idea was to bring in doctors quickly when government processes slowed down permanent hiring, especially in federal hospitals.
But now, many locum doctors—despite having the same qualifications and doing the same work as full-time doctors—are being treated as less important. They are stuck in short-term jobs with little pay and no job security.
NARD and NMA leaders say that continuing to rely on locum doctors is harming the already struggling healthcare system by lowering morale and stability.
Dr. Dele Osundara, NARD President, told a reporter that public hospitals have misused the locum system. What was meant to be a temporary solution has become a long-term problem.
He said the locum role was supposed to last no more than three months, but now some doctors have been in the position for over two years without any hope of getting a permanent job.
“You can’t expect doctors to stay when they’re underpaid, overworked, and uncertain about their future,” he said. “Many are just waiting for the chance to leave the country.”
He also said locum doctors aren’t properly protected by Nigeria’s labour laws, making it easy for them to be exploited.
According to him, some hospitals use this power gap to stop doctors from speaking up and to deny them things like hazard pay, training opportunities, or retirement benefits.
He said, “Locum doctors have no voice. If they complain or speak up, their contracts might just end without warning. Hospital managers can drop them anytime.”
He accused some hospitals of taking advantage of young doctors’ desperation, using them as cheap labour without any plan to hire them permanently.
“They don’t give them pensions, hazard pay, or chances to grow. They just use them and let them go,” he said.
Dr. Osundara urged the federal and state governments to stop this practice and offer stable jobs to doctors. He warned that the current system is pushing Nigeria’s skilled doctors to leave for better jobs abroad.
He added, “If you want doctors to stay, treat them with respect. This locum system is outdated and harmful. We need a better system that supports both doctors and patients.”
Dr. Benjamin Olowojebutu, the First Vice-President of NMA, also spoke. He said governments must quickly end the use of locum and contract jobs for doctors.
He said all doctors in public hospitals should be given full-time jobs with benefits after a short trial period.
Temporary jobs should not last more than one year, he said. Anything longer is just another form of exploitation.
Olowojebutu said what started as a short-term fix has now become the usual way of hiring young doctors in Nigeria.
He said many newly qualified doctors are stuck in temporary jobs for years without pensions, health insurance, or job security—and even have unexplained salary deductions.
“These doctors are treated like tools—used when needed and thrown away afterward,” he said.
“How can a government that says it cares about healthcare allow these poor working conditions? How can it expect doctors to give their best while offering them so little in return?” Olowojebutu asked.
He said ending this system is key to giving doctors the respect they deserve and stopping the large number of skilled doctors leaving the country.
He called the practice not just unfair, but harmful to Nigeria’s goal of improving healthcare.
