While robotic surgery is advancing rapidly, experts warn that medicine cannot function without human judgement, accountability and ethical responsibility.
Watch video below:
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, has decried the continued exclusion of members from payment of specialist allowance despite performing specialist functions in various health Institutions across the country.
It also condemned the persistent casualisation and poor remuneration of members by chief executives of tertiary hospitals.
The President of the Association in Akwa Ibom, Dr Osundara Tope, raised the concerns while addressing a press conference where he read the communique issued at the end of the May Ordinary Meeting and Scientific conference with the theme “The Medical Profession: Policies, Politics, and Future Prospects” held in Uyo on Saturday.
The communique was signed by the association’s president, Dr Osundara Tope, Secretary general Dr. Odunbaku Kazeem Oluwasola, and Public and Social Secretary Dr. Amobi Omoha respectively.
“The OGM observed with disappointment the continued exclusion of resident doctors from the payment of specialist allowances, despite their active role in delivering specialist care across various health institutions.
“The OGM strongly condemns the continued and persistent casualisation and the consequent poor remuneration of doctors by the chief executives of tertiary hospitals .The meeting also expressed disappointment over the non-payment of arrears from the upward review of the CONMESS salary structure and other outstanding salary arrears,” the communique read.
He also expressed the association’s disappointment over the non-payment of arrears from the upward review of the CONMESS salary structure and other outstanding salary arrears of members.
The association condemned federal government’s failure to pay the 2024 Accouterments Allowance arrears and persistent shortchanging of it members for the past 16 years due to absence of consequential adjustments to the CONMESS structure, which it noted was a breach of the 2009 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
He further expressed disappointment over lack of response to multiple correspondences on the issue, emphasising that such contradicts the National Policy on Health Workforce, which advocates improved incentives to retaining healthcare workers.
According to Tope, “The OGM notes with concern the persistent short-changing of members for 16 years, due to the absence of consequential adjustments to the CONMESS structure, in breach of the 2009 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“This contradicts the National Policy on Health Workforce, which advocates improved incentives to retaining healthcare workers.
“The OGM is dismayed at the lack of response to multiple correspondences sent over the past six months regarding the consequential adjustments.The OGM condemns the Federal Government’s failure to pay the 2024 Accoutrement Allowance arrears.”
The meeting further expressed displeasure over the delay in addressing welfare issues in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital including the non-payment of outstanding March 2024 salaries, the 7–14 months of arrears still owed to Residents and Medical Officers of the association
It therefore demanded immediate payment of the arrears of the 25/35% upwardly revised CONMESS, and other salary arrears and full implementation of consequential adjustments to the 2019 and 2024 minimum wage on basic salaries and allowances, along with accrued arrears.
Wife of former Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu returns home following custodial sentence, while her husband remains imprisoned in UK.
The wife of former Nigerian Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Beatrice, has returned to Nigeria after being released from a prison in the United Kingdom.
Her arrival in the country on Tuesday, January 21, 2026, followed the completion of the custodial portion of her sentence for her role in a high-profile organ-harvesting conspiracy.
Mrs Ekweremadu was received by family members and close associates at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, marking her first time on Nigerian soil since the legal saga began in mid-2022.
While her return has sparked celebrations in her hometown of Mpu, in the Aninri Local Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State, it came amid the continued incarceration of her husband in London.
The return of the former Deputy Senate President’s wife followed her May 2023 conviction by the Old Bailey in London.
She was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for conspiring to facilitate the travel of a 21-year-old Lagos Street trader to the UK for the purpose of harvesting his kidney.
The organ was intended for the couple’s daughter, Sonia, who suffered from a chronic kidney condition.
The case, which was prosecuted under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015, marked the first time the legislation was used in a human organ-harvesting prosecution.
Under UK law, non-violent offenders are typically eligible for release on license after serving half of their custodial term.
Reports indicated that Mrs. Ekweremadu’s release was further facilitated by her good conduct record and by a broader UK government initiative to address severe prison overcrowding.
Despite his wife’s return, Senator Ekweremadu remains in a UK correctional facility serving a significantly longer sentence.
In May 2023, the former lawmaker was handed a nine-year and eight-month term, as the court deemed him the primary driver of the conspiracy.
Efforts by the Nigerian federal government to secure his release or repatriation have so far been unsuccessful.
In late 2025, a high-powered diplomatic delegation visited London to explore a Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) that would allow the Senator to serve the remainder of his term in a Nigerian facility.
However, the UK Home Office reportedly rejected the proposal in November 2025, citing concerns over the guarantee of the sentence’s continued enforcement if transferred to the Nigerian jurisdiction.
The third convict in the case, Dr. Obinna Obeta, who was described by the prosecution as the medical “middleman,” continues to serve a 10-year prison sentence in the UK.
Meanwhile, the couple’s daughter, Sonia, who was cleared of all criminal charges during the 2023 trial, remains in the United Kingdom, where she is reportedly receiving ongoing medical treatment for her condition.
Elon Musk has asserted that medical degrees may soon become obsolete, as AI-powered robots are expected to surpass human surgeons in performance.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO claimed that humanoid robots like Tesla’s Optimus will outperform the world’s best surgeons within three years.
Speaking on the Moonshots podcast hosted by Peter Diamandis, Musk argued that human doctors are slow to train, prone to error, and fundamentally limited.
“Right now there’s a shortage of doctors and great surgeons,” Musk said.
“[It takes] a super long time to learn how to be a good doctor Doctors have limited time, they make mistakes. How many great surgeons are there? Not that many,” he added.
“So don’t go to medical school?” Diamandis asked Musk.
While robotic surgery is advancing rapidly, experts warn that medicine cannot function without human judgement, accountability and ethical responsibility.
Watch video below:

In a recent development, the ongoing controversy surrounding Ayo Labinjoh, the mother of Anu and Afrobeats superstar, Davido, over partenity dispute has intensified.
It’s worth noting that Ayo Labinjoh and Davido have been in the headlines over paternity dispute, with the singer claiming five DNA tests yielded negative results
In a fresh Instagram post, Ayo shared an existing DNA test result contradicting Davido’s earlier claim.
She emphasized that the DNA test result was valid, while investigative journalist, Kemi Olunloyo has fought vigorously for her daughter.
Her post reads,“The ONLY DNA TEST Fake
No swab, just bl00d
Not 2, Not 5.We still haven’t seen David post today online and in newspapers”.
Meanwhile, Davido has revealed that his father, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, played a significant role amid his paternity dispute with Ayo Labinjoh.
In a recent tweet on X (formely Twitter), the ‘Feel’ crooner shared that his father insisted that he undergo DNA test.
“You guys don’t know my father..He’s even the one that forced me to go. Adeleke’s we don’t play about Blood on this side”, The tweet reads.
Meanwhile, Cubana Chief Priest’s alleged baby mama, Helen Atti, has weighed in on Davido’s paternity dispute.
She took to the singer’s comment section, writing, “Please just help her, you can still adopt her, it doesn’t mean anything. I know you love children a lot, not like Pascal Okechukwu, big belle for no reason”.
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