UNILAG chapter plans protest as South West MDCAN begins strike today

‘Non-implementation of CONMESS contradicts plan to train more doctors’
The University of Lagos chapter of the South-West zone of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has planned to hold a protest as the association begins an indefinite strike today over non-payment of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) scale to clinical lecturers in the universities.

However, in a statement, Chairman, MDCAN Southwest zone, Dr A.A. Salawu, said the reason for the strike was to draw attention of the Federal Government to their cause.

“Following a meeting held on Saturday, January 11, 2025, the MDCAN Southwest region brought the attention of relevant authorities to key issues regarding the welfare of clinical lecturers.

“It was noted that clinical lecturers in the Southwest region of Nigeria were being erroneously placed on the CONMESS despite the Federal Government’s approved salary structure for medical and dental officers in public service captured on the CONMESS circular of 2008 and corrected in 2014.

“The CONMESS scale has reportedly already been implemented in several federal universities across other regions in the country.

“However, clinical lecturers in the Southwest zone are still being denied payment on this scale despite being in the employment of the same universities. The delay in implementation of the CONMESS scale for clinical lecturers in the region is currently adversely impairing staff recruitment and retention, jeopardising the training of medical doctors and healthcare personnel,” he said.

Salawu said that without swift resolution, the industrial action from the MDCAN could significantly impact Nigerian students through the disruption of their academic calendars, an increased knowledge gap and a long-term impact on the quality of the healthcare system.

Meanwhile, the University of Ibadan (UI) branch chairman of the MDCAN, Dr Kolawole Akande, has expressed concern over the non-implementation of CONMESS for clinical lectures at the UI and its implications for the Federal Government’s intent to increase the number of doctors trained in universities.

Akande, who spoke in reaction to the industrial strike, said the non-implementation of CONMESS for clinical lectures had disrupted the teaching of medical students both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and was a disincentive to the recruitment of other clinical lecturers by the university.

According to him, “clinical lecturers in UI have not been teaching students since December 2024 due to the failure of UI management to implement CONMESS as done for our colleagues in other universities with colleges of medicine.

“This is not good for the students as it will prolong their stay in the medical school.”

“It is almost two years now that we have been pleading with the university management to do this but to no avail.”

In his response, Provost of the College of Medicine at UI, Prof. Temidayo Ogundiran, said that the strike was not against the College of Medicine and that the university authority was already aware of it, saying: “The strike is under control. It is unfortunate that it’s prolonged. But, hopefully, I believe that it will be sorted out.”