By CHARLES IWUOHA

The newly elected Chairman of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Enugu State, Dr. Celestine Ugwuoke, has pledged to eliminate quacks from medical practice in the state.

Ugwuoke made the pledge in Enugu on Monday after being sworn to office following his emergence in a keenly contested election during which a new executive of the association in the state was elected.

He said that medical quacks have caused a lot of damage to the profession and led to the death of several unsuspecting members of the public, adding that “it seems there is no concerted effort to check this negative development.”

According to him, NMA would partner with the government through the State House of Assembly, the Executive, security agencies and other medical professional bodies to wage a joint war against quacks in Enugu State.

“Medical quackery is a silent but devastating killer of lots of people and still killing because people doing it have remained unrepentant after causing families to lose love ones and patients’ medical conditions getting complicated.

“I have witnessed a lot unqualified persons claiming what they are not in health facilities within the state.

“Even some medical professional take up task or medical operations like surgery beyond their training which is supposed to be reserved for medical consultants in various specialised fields,” he said.

The new Chairman noted that the NMA would push further through the State House of Assembly to make a law with stiffer penalty against those engaging in medical quackery in the state.

Ugwuoke, popularly known as Dr Nice Man, said that after pushing to pass the law; NMA would press on the government to establish an agency that would be saddled with responsibility of fighting medical quacks.

“The agency will be made of members from various medical professional backgrounds to make it all-encompassing and then get rid of all forms of medical quacks and other professional malpractices.

“Individual doctors, the NMA and concerned citizens can do little without effective law, government and security agencies’ backing to fight these quacks to a standstill.

“I know the bitter experience some NMA members got trying fighting these impostors on their own and within two weeks in custody, the quacks find their way back to their nefarious activities,” he said.

He noted that fighting quackery would not only sanitise the system but boost government revenue as hospitals and health facilities would be duly licensed and pay their renewal license fees as well.

In the keenly contested election; Dr Esther Ekwe, emerged as unopposed as Deputy Chairman; Dr Sunday Okafor emerged as Secretary and Dr Lilian Ezugwu, as Assistant Secretary.

Others are: Dr Nelson Agbo as Treasurer; Dr Patrick Nwachukwu as Financial Secretary; Dr Ijeoma Charles-Ugwuagbo as Publicity Secretary and Dr Nnamdi Ezugworie, emerged unopposed as Social Secretary.

The newly elected NMA Executive would run the affairs of the association in the state for two years.

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