The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has dismissed recent media reports claiming that about 2,000 house officers are stranded without job placements annually, describing the assertion as inaccurate and based on a misinterpretation of facts presented during its recent budget defence before the Senate Committee on Health at the National Assembly.
According to the Council, it informed the Senate Committee that approximately 4,000 house officers are currently enrolled under the centralised housemanship scheme, which operates across 48 Federal Government hospitals nationwide.
The MDCN further explained that, beyond the federal scheme, there are 81 additional accredited hospitals—comprising State Government, Military, and Private health institutions—that also provide housemanship training. Although these hospitals operate outside the federal centralised scheme, they remain fully accredited by the MDCN and continue to offer valid housemanship placements.
The Council stressed that it is misleading to describe doctors undergoing training outside the federal scheme as “stranded.” MDCN accreditation, it noted, guarantees that these institutions meet the required standards for housemanship training, with available placement opportunities across the country.
In total, the MDCN revealed that Nigeria currently has 129 accredited hospitals where newly qualified medical doctors can commence their housemanship immediately. Any delays experienced by some graduates, the Council clarified, are largely due to personal preferences for specific locations or institutions—particularly those within the federal centralised scheme—rather than a shortage of available training positions.
During the budget defence session, the MDCN also advocated for the expansion of the centralised housemanship scheme to include accredited non-federal hospitals. This, it explained, would promote greater equity in remuneration and access by allowing house officers in State, Military, and Private hospitals to benefit from the federal funding framework presently limited to federal institutions.
Reaffirming its commitment, the MDCN stated that it remains dedicated to ensuring that all eligible medical and dental graduates have access to quality housemanship training in accredited institutions across Nigeria. The Council also pledged continued transparency, accuracy, and sustained efforts to strengthen the nation’s medical training and regulatory systems.
The MDCN urged the public and stakeholders to rely on verified information issued by the Council and to disregard misleading interpretations that do not accurately reflect the realities of housemanship training and placement in Nigeria.
