By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has revealed that the existing centralised system causes limited capacity which constrains about 2,000 medical doctors graduated annually in Nigeria from securing placement for mandatory housemanship.
The Registrar of the Council, Dr. Fatimah Kyari, defending the council’s 2026 budget proposal before the Senate Committee on Health, on Friday, explained that although Nigerian medical schools graduate about 6,000 doctors every year, the current Centralised Housemanship Scheme has capacity for only 4,000, leaving roughly 2,000 graduates stranded annually.
She also lamented poor budgetary releases to the Council in the 2025 fiscal year, disclosing that no funds were released from the ₦1.2 billion capital allocation approved for the MDCN.
The Senate Committee on Health assured the Council of the committee’s support, pledging that lawmakers would work towards ensuring adequate funding for the MDCN.
