By Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki.
The Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Account and Water Resources, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi yesterday disclosed that he has prepared a bill targeted to curb medical quackery in Nigeria.
He made this known in an interview with journalists in his Abakaliki residence while celebrating the 2023 new yam festival with his constituents on Saturday.
He lamented the alarming rate of quackery taking over the health sector, which according to him, has posed a great threat to the medical profession and the health of the citizens in the country.
"For example, somebody with a Junior Community Health Extension Working, JCHEW qualification has nothing to do with an injection. He has nothing to do with surgery. He has nothing to do with laboratory processes. There are people trained to do that. And if you don't have the training don't render the services," he said.
The Lawmaker however urged the federal government to address the problems of the resident doctors to discourage them from embarking on strike.
He identified the health sector as one of the most essential public sectors in the country, saying that qualified doctors should be taken good care of.
"Health is wealth. Health is one of the essential sectors of the public sector. So, we can't joke about it. That's why I even went further to ask the federal government to address the problems of the resident doctors so that they will not go on strike.
"To back up my position in the Senate, today, I have a bill which if you mind I can show you and I'm going to put forward to curb this menace," he added.
The Federal lawmaker further commended the Ebonyi State government for having enacted the law against medical quackery in the state.
"I want to commend the government of Ebonyi State. Ebonyi state government is the government with foresight. Why do I say so, Ebonyi State is the only state that has such a law in place but you can't see it in Enugu and even in Lagos. But Ebonyi has the law against quackery," he said.
