By Ijeoma Wilfred
Henceforth,any medical doctor relocating abroad must resign their appointments rather than applying for leave of absence a Federal Government directive said on Saturday
Minister of State for Health Tunji Alausa who disclosed this during a chat with journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital said a presidential executive order has been forwarded to chief medical directors of government-owned health facilities to ensure compliance.
The Minister said that while the government would not stop any medical practitioner from relocating abroad knowing it is “a free world”, those leaving the country for good have to quit their jobs before leaving.
“However, the government has not prohibited anyone who wants to move to the UK or Australia to take up appointments not to do so,” the minister said.
“It is a free world. But, you cannot eat your cake and have it. If you are going, just resign your appointments with the federal government, rather than applying for a leave of absence.
“That is the Presidential Executive Order which has been communicated to all the Chief Medical Directors of Federal Government owned health facilities to implement.
“So, to resolve this problem, the President has directed that any health worker going abroad to work should just resign his or her appointment. This way, you won’t be blocking others who want to work.”
The minister said the government has “doubled enrollment for Doctors, Dentists and Pharmacists” to tackle the effect of the relocation on the health ministry.
