The National Salary Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) circular dated June 27, 2025 was rejected by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Abia State chapter. The chapter is now demanding a new circular that is in line with the prior agreements that the federal government and NMA had achieved. On Friday, at its Secretariat in Umuahia, the NMA made its stance clear.
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In an interview with the press, Dr. Ezuruike Ezinwa, chairman of the NMA in Abia State, stated that his chapter fully backs the 18-point demands and the 21-day ultimatum issued by the NMA national council, headed by Professor Bala Mohammed Audu, to the federal government.
According to him, the most recent circular from June 27, 2025, went against all that was agreed upon and negotiated during collective bargaining with the Nigerian federal government.
The continued marginalisation of doctors’ well-being, which Dr. Ezuruike attributed to the growing number of medical professionals emigrating to other nations, is an insult to democratic governance, he added.
After careful consideration of all relevant factors, the NMA Abia State has concluded that it fully supports the ultimatum given by the National Body, headed by Professor Bala Mohammed Audu.
The members of the Abia NMA expressed their disappointment that the “circular has aggravated the festering wounds of the few Doctors and Nurses that are still practicing in Nigeria” on June 27, 2025.
As a result, they wanted the circular reviewing medical and dental officers’ allowances in the federal government revoked right away.
In addition to other requests, they wanted medical doctors to head hospitals and a circular to implement the new retirement age for dentists and doctors, among other things.