The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and relevant health-sector authorities to implement a recent Court of Appeal judgment concerning the management of medical laboratory services in federal tertiary hospitals.
The association said the judgment, delivered by the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/A/437/2016 on November 9, 2026, resolved a longstanding dispute involving the management of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), pathologists and the Incorporated Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria.
AMLSN National President, Dr Casmir Ifeanyi, appealed during a press briefing at the end of the association’s 61st Annual Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting, held from November 4 to 8, 2026, in Minna, Niger State.
Ifeanyi said members of the association welcomed the judgment, describing it as a resolution of the prolonged dispute over the management and control of medical laboratory services.
He said the ruling reaffirmed the legal distinction between medical laboratory science and medicine, noting that the profession has its own enabling Act, regulatory council, scheme of service and scope of practice.
The AMLSN president urged pathologists and the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria to comply with the judgment and restrict their practice to their statutory responsibilities.
He also called on the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to advise the executive arm of government and ensure compliance with the judgment.
Ifeanyi urged the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare to issue a circular directing chief medical directors and medical directors of federal tertiary hospitals to implement the judgment.
According to him, medical laboratory departments should be headed, managed and supervised by qualified medical laboratory scientists, while the profession’s scheme of service should be fully implemented.
He also called on the Federal Government to reconstitute the governing and regulatory boards of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, which he said had remained delayed.
The association said the delay in reconstituting the boards and councils had affected regulatory oversight, policy implementation and institutional decisions.
Ifeanyi further stated that the situation had disrupted training, accreditation and professional certification, hindered workforce development and reduced accountability across the health sector.
He warned that the situation posed risks to patient safety, healthcare quality and professional standards and called for the approval of the reconstitution of the relevant boards and councils.
The 61st Annual Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting brought together medical laboratory scientists, policymakers, academics, industry partners and other health stakeholders from Nigeria and beyond.
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