The President of the Nigerian Medical Students’ Association (NiMSA), Delmi Ahmadu Sardauna, has issued a formal response to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) following initial correspondence from the NMA Secretary General on the 6th November 2025, directing that ILUMSA be reinstated as a member of the South-West region of NiMSA, the current Vice-President Internal be recognised by Sardauna, all processes in the Court of Law related to NiMSA be halted, and that NMA will spearhead a review of the NiMSA constitution. Sardauna insisting that the matters raised are “strictly a NiMSA constitutional issue.” The letter, addressed through the NMA Secretariat in Abuja, clarifies NiMSA’s position regarding petitions and committee reports currently generating debate within the association.
In the document, the NiMSA President noted that although the Secretary General acknowledged receiving a petition from the Ilorin University Medical Students’ Association (ILUMSA), he was “not officially served or copied the said petition,” adding that the NMA’s conclusions were based on “one-sided information, which I consider unfair.” He also stated that the NMA Adhoc Committee on NiMSA did not reference the 2023 NiMSA Constitution nor consult past presidents familiar with its provisions.
Sardauna emphasized that the constitution remains the supreme guiding document of NiMSA, quoting directly: “The NiMSA Constitution is supreme.” He highlighted the explicit constitutional clauses governing regional rotation of offices, stressing that the six geopolitical regions—not caucus arrangements—determine eligibility. According to him, “Kwara State is in North Central and any medical student association in the state belongs to NiMSA North Central region.”
The letter also outlined potential consequences should the NMA’s directives be implemented, warning that such actions could “violate the principles of rotation,” destabilize regional balance, and set a precedent where NMA directives override NiMSA’s constitution. He further cautioned that this may lead to a future where leaders “join NMA on the basis of violating constitutions — a bad prognosis for our healthcare community.”
Despite the concerns, the President expressed appreciation to the NMA for its continued support, while requesting that the minutes of all relevant meetings be forwarded to NiMSA for clarity and public transparency. He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to upholding constitutional integrity and ensuring the association is handed over “in a better and more stable condition than we met her.”