Senate moves to let medical college award PhDs in clinical medicine
- The Senate has passed for second reading a bill allowing the National Postgraduate Medical College to award PhDs in clinical medicine and dentistry.
- A second bill would give the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau more independence by removing some ministerial approval requirements.
- Both bills, sponsored by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, have been sent to committees for further work.
The Senate has taken a first step towards letting the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria award Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in clinical medicine, dentistry and related fields.
The bill passed second reading on Tuesday at plenary in Abuja, along with a separate bill to strengthen the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB). Both were sponsored by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele.
If it becomes law, the medical college would move beyond its current job of running professional postgraduate examinations. It would also be able to set up academic programmes and award doctoral degrees.
What it means for doctors and patients
Bamidele told the chamber the change would tie specialist medical training more closely to clinical research and advanced academic work.
"It will create a statutory basis for the College to contribute more directly to the development of research capacity, clinical scholarship, and specialised knowledge within the medical profession," he said.
The bill also sets out how doctoral programmes would be run, under the accreditation and regulation of the National Universities Commission (NUC).
For Nigerian doctors, this could open a clearer path to combine specialist practice with research and teaching without leaving the country for a PhD. That matters for a health sector that has lost many senior doctors to migration in recent years.
The Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mohammed Monguno, seconded the medical college bill.
Safety bureau eyes more independence
The second bill seeks to amend the NSIB Act so the agency can investigate transport accidents with less interference.
Bamidele said the current law requires ministerial approval or recommendation for some appointments and administrative steps, which can slow the bureau down.
The amendment would remove those requirements. According to the Senate Leader, this would improve the quality and credibility of safety investigations and help ensure findings lead to real measures to prevent future accidents.
The NSIB investigates accidents and incidents across transport modes and issues safety recommendations.
The Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Olalere Oyewunmi, seconded the NSIB bill.
What happens next
Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred the medical college bill to the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, and the NSIB bill to the Committee on Aviation.
The committees will examine both bills and report back to the Senate. They would still need to pass third reading and be signed by President Bola Tinubu before becoming law.
