The Federal Government has lifted the ban on residency training programme for doctors.
The reversal takes effect from Thursday August 28, said an official statement from the federal health ministry.
The reversal also automatically reinstates some 16,000 residents disengaged in the wake of the suspension.
It also directed chief medical directors of institutions that offer residency training to “issue letters of reinstatement to the resident doctors to enable them resume work immediately.”
It said doctors should see the “magnanimity of government in reinstating them as a goodwill gesture to engender greater commitment and dedication to their duties.”
Government suspended residency training at the height of a strike by Nigerian Medical Association amidst frustration that doctors by virtue of their strike were frustrating efforts to control the spread of Ebola and attempts to provide emergency medical care in the face of militant attacks.
But the government said its appraisal in view of restructuring residency training for doctors would continue.
National Union of Allied Health Professionals on Thursday spoke against suspension of the programme.
But it backed a restructure of residency training, insisting a restructure should include training for other medical staff beyond doctors.
The union said government should consider limiting training to only 30% of hospital staff to ensure enough manpower remains at work while training goes on.
