Crisis Rocks NMA Lagos as Secretary, Others Suspended Over “Unconstitutional Meeting”

A leadership crisis has erupted within the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Lagos chapter after its secretary, Dr. Jimoh Hassan, and several committee members were suspended over what officials described as an “unconstitutional gathering.”

The decision followed an emergency State Executive Council (SEC) meeting held on April 23, triggered by a controversial assembly that reportedly took place days earlier at Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Idi-Araba.

NMA Lagos Chairman, Saheed Kehinde, said the council found Dr. Hassan and others guilty of breaching the association’s constitution and internal regulations. He described the move as necessary to preserve order and protect the institution’s credibility.

According to him, the suspended officials participated in a meeting on April 18 that did not follow due process, raising concerns about parallel decision-making structures within the association.

To stabilise leadership, the council immediately appointed Deputy Secretary, Olusola Soyinka Jnr, as Acting Secretary, pending further resolution of the dispute.

The NMA leadership insisted the action was unanimous and aimed at reinforcing accountability, warning that any conduct capable of undermining the association’s framework would attract sanctions.

But strip away the official language, and a deeper issue is obvious: internal power struggles. Professional bodies like the NMA don’t implode over a single meeting unless there are underlying tensions—control, influence, and succession battles.

What happens next will determine whether this is a short-term disciplinary action or the beginning of a prolonged institutional fracture. For now, the association says it remains committed to due process, but the real test will be whether it can restore unity without escalating the crisis further.