Nigerian Medical Association

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) is the professional association and registered for Nigerian doctors and Physicians. The NMA has more than 40,000 members from 36 state branches and the branch from the federal capital territory, including those registered in the diaspora. NMA's membership spans all six major specialties of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Public Health and Laboratory Medicine/Pathology.

The population of Nigeria is about 160million. Policy decisions are made by the Association’s National Executive Council (NEC) which is the governing body. The constitution of NMA is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities, organs, branches and members of the Association and, where applicable, on any other persons. Any Act CAP 221 Laws of the federation of Nigeria (1990) and as subsequently amended shall have a right of membership of the Association on payment of the annual practicing fee in the said Act as may be reviewed from time to time, unless otherwise prescribed herein in the constitution.

The National Executive Council is the governing body of the Association and has full powers to act on its behalf in the period between the Annual Delegates’ Meetings in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Association unless otherwise stated in the constitution. Although the Association is involved in many of the government’s activities, it is consulted formally by the government only on an ad-hoc’ basis. It is not consulted ad ‘of right’ on health issues and has to press for its participation. The Association nominates eleven members of the Medical & Dental Council of Nigeria which regulates the practice of medicine & dentistry in Nigeria and the curricula of its medical schools.