Lab Scientists Raise Concern Over Health Reform Bills

The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) has raised concerns over a controversial bill seeking to amend key provisions of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria Act.

It warned that passing the bill could destabilise Nigeria’s healthcare system, compromise patient safety, and trigger fresh inter-professional conflict in the sector.

The AMLSN National President, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, while addressing journalist in Abuja on Saturday described the proposed amendment as “a dangerous regression disguised as reform,” warning that it is “misaligned with global best practices and inimical to Nigeria’s healthcare delivery.”

According to Ifeanyi, the bill, titled Executive Bill HB:2701, alongside a related Senate version, seeks to amend key provisions of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria Act, particularly Sections 3 and 29, which define the governance structure and scope of medical laboratory science practice in Nigeria.

“This bill does not represent reform; it represents regression. It is dangerous, destabilising, and profoundly misaligned with science and global best practice,” Ifeanyi said.

The controversy centered on the proposed restructuring of the governing board of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, the statutory body responsible for regulating laboratory science practice in Nigeria.

Under the current law, the council maintains professional dominance in its governance to ensure technical oversight. However, the proposed amendment would expand board membership to include non-specialists and increase the influence of political appointees.

Ifeanyi warned that such changes would crumble professional independence and weaken regulatory standards.

“A regulatory system driven by politics rather than expertise is not reform; it is institutional sabotage. Leadership in medical laboratory science cannot be detached from scientific competence,” Ifeanyi said.

He also criticised the proposed removal of the requirement that the council’s chairman must be a fellow of the profession, describing it as a “critical vulnerability” that could open the door to non-experts controlling sensitive healthcare systems.

The association further faulted provisions seeking to include the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria in the MLSCN governing board, arguing that it violates established global standards of independent professional regulation.

“Collaboration is not co-regulation. What is being proposed is not synergy, but structural overreach and professional capture,” Ifeanyi stated.

AMLSN also raised concern on the contradiction in Section 29 of the bill, which broadly defines medical laboratory science but limits practitioners’ role in diagnosis.

According to Ifeanyi, this provision contradicts scientific reality, noting that laboratory data underpin the majority of clinical decisions.

“Over 70 per cent of clinical decisions depend on laboratory-generated evidence. To exclude laboratory scientists from diagnostic contributions is to separate evidence from its ownership and institutionalise confusion,” he said.

The association further condemned a related provision in HB:2695, alleging that it attempts to subsume core laboratory science functions, including molecular diagnostics, genetic testing, and assisted reproductive technologies under medical practice.

The AMLSN president described the move as a “stealth-driven legislative overreach” that could compromise specialised fields and endanger patient care.

Nigeria’s current MLSCN Act, Cap M25, 2004, has been upheld in over 22 judgments of the National Industrial Court.