By Henry Umoru, Abuja
The National Assembly Joint Committee on Health has urged the Joint Committee on Appropriations to provide take-off grants for newly established hospitals across Nigeria to ensure their effective operation.
The call was made yesterday when Senator Ipalibo Banigo, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health, submitted the harmonised report of the joint Senate and House Committees on Health on the 2026 budget proposals for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. She stressed that take-off grants would provide critical startup funding to address immediate operational needs of the new facilities.
The hospitals include:
Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lafia, Nasarawa State
Federal University Teaching Hospital, Akure, Ondo State
Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Otukpo, Benue State
Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ila-Orangun, Osun State
Senator Banigo noted that the government aims to allocate six per cent of the total budget investment to the health sector to strengthen healthcare systems nationwide. “The goal is to revitalise hospitals with medications, essential drugs, and improved resources to ensure quality healthcare for all Nigerians,” she said.
She provided a breakdown of the 2026 budget proposal for the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare:
Personnel: N1,170,495,177,648
Overhead: N57,031,955,090
Capital: N924,251,647,868
Total allocation: N2,136,248,295,543
Senator Banigo also highlighted delays in the release of previous appropriations, noting that while the 2024 budget had been uploaded, only 60 per cent of payments had been made in some hospitals, with a few receiving as little as 30 per cent of their allocations.
In response, Senator Mohammed Monguno, Deputy Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, assured that the committee would review the issues and take necessary action to support the health sector.
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