• Temidire assumes office as new chair, vows to defend doctors, end infighting
• Embattled chairman denies sack, says due process violated
• Lagos doctors protest police harassment, warn of risks to patient care
• Say arrests, intimidation may threaten healthcare delivery

Crisis rocking the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State branch, deepened yesterday, after an emergency congress convened to address the lingering internal dispute removed its Chairman, Dr Babajide Saheed, over alleged constitutional infractions.

It, however, urged the erstwhile first Vice Chairman, Dr Ewonowo Temidire, to immediately assume office as the new chairman.

Temidire said the decision followed a series of alleged breaches of the association’s rules and regulations by the former chairman, particularly his refusal to convene meetings requested by members or resolve disputes surrounding the selection of delegates for national elections.

He said that affiliate groups, including the states’ Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), as well as the Medical Guild, had formally written to demand an emergency general meeting, but the former chairman allegedly failed to respond within the seven days stipulated by the constitution.

He alleged that six members of the committee, which he said formed a quorum under the Constitution, had requested a meeting to deliberate on the delegates’ list, but the chairman allegedly declined to summon it.

He said that his emergence followed succession provisions in the association’s rules.

Temidire, who pledged to prioritise the welfare of doctors in Lagos and resist any form of dehumanising treatment against medical professionals in their workplaces, also promised to end the prolonged internal crisis within the Lagos branch.

Meanwhile, Saheed has rejected claims of his removal from office, describing the move as unconstitutional and without legal effect.

In a statement, at the weekend, Saheed said he had been alerted to an announcement by a group of individuals purporting to declare his removal, maintaining that the action did not follow the provisions outlined in NMA’s Constitution.

According to him, the association’s Constitution clearly stipulates the procedures for the election, tenure and removal of elected officers, none of which were adhered to by those behind the alleged decision.

The NMA chairman added that the association was considering appropriate measures, including legal action, to address the situation.

He urged members to remain calm and law-abiding, reiterating the association’s commitment to professional standards and to promoting public health in Lagos State.

In another development, medical doctors, under the aegis of the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP) and the NMA, at the weekend, staged a peaceful protest in Lagos State over alleged continuous harassment by the police and growing concerns over social media attacks on medical practitioners.

The protest, held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, drew medical professionals who said repeated arrests and intimidation of doctors were affecting healthcare delivery and putting patients at risk.

Chairman of ANPMP, Lagos State, Dr Jonathan Esegine, said doctors were being “hounded at will, abducted from their practices, harassed, intimidated, mistreated and imprisoned at will for no just cause.”

He alleged that the police, particularly the Criminal Investigation Department at Panti, had turned the arrest of doctors into a routine, often detaining them without proper investigation.

He therefore warned that the trend could force doctors to begin practising defensive medicine, in which fear of arrest affects urgent medical decisions.

“Doctors will now begin to practise defensive medicine. When you confront a medical emergency, you begin to ask yourself, should I attempt it or not? If it fails, the police will jump in and label you with murder,” he said.

Also, the National First Vice President of the NMA, Dr Benjamin Olowojebutu, said only the MDCN had the authority to handle cases of medical negligence.

“Things can happen in medical practice, and the only agency authorised to speak on negligence is the MDCN, not the police,” he said.

Saheed also said doctors were increasingly being judged unfairly both by security agencies and on social media.