Oyedele commissions NSIA MedServe centres in Bauchi, Ibadan, says healthcare investment will boost productivity, curb medical tourism and retain economic value in Nigeria

By : Chioma Vivian James

The Federal Government has elevated healthcare to the status of critical economic infrastructure, declaring that sustained investment in the sector is essential to strengthening human capital, improving productivity and driving Nigeria’s long-term economic growth.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, made the declaration while commissioning NSIA MedServe Diagnostic Centres in Bauchi and Ibadan under the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority’s (NSIA) Healthcare Expansion Programme.

Oyedele said the significance of the projects extended beyond the commissioning of new medical facilities, stressing that a healthy population was better positioned to work, learn and contribute meaningfully to the economy.

According to him, illness imposes substantial economic pressure on families through medical bills, lost income and depleted savings, making investment in accessible and quality healthcare not only a social responsibility but also an economic necessity.

He said the projects demonstrated how public capital could be strategically deployed to attract private and development financing into critical infrastructure, noting that government budgets alone could not meet the country’s vast development needs.

“Government budgets alone cannot meet Nigeria’s development needs. The question cannot only be how much government spends. It must also be how much private and development capital government can mobilise,” Oyedele said.

The Minister commended the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank Group for supporting the programme, particularly through long-tenor local currency financing suitable for long-term assets that generate revenues in naira.

He noted that the financing model could be replicated across other priority sectors, including infrastructure, agriculture, energy and housing.

Oyedele said previous NSIA investments had demonstrated the enormous unmet demand for specialised healthcare services in Nigeria.

He disclosed that the MedServe LUTH Cancer Centre had treated more than 16,700 patients, delivered over 30,000 radiotherapy sessions and provided 25,000 chemotherapy treatments, while diagnostic centres in Kano and Umuahia had attended to more than 410,000 patients as of December 2025.

He further disclosed that MedServe was developing 23 new diagnostic centres nationwide in two phases, including three centres with oncology units and another three equipped with cardiac catheterisation laboratories.

The expansion, he said, would bring specialised diagnostic and treatment services closer to Nigerians, reducing the burden of long-distance travel and the growing reliance on overseas medical treatment.

The Minister linked the initiative to the Federal Government’s broader efforts to reduce medical tourism and retain more economic value within Nigeria.

“Every procedure performed at home keeps value, jobs and expertise in our economy and eases pressure on foreign exchange,” he said.

However, Oyedele stressed that Nigeria’s ambition should go beyond simply reducing outbound medical tourism to building a competitive healthcare economy capable of not only serving Nigerians but also attracting patients from other African countries.

Achieving this, he noted, would require sustained investment in medical infrastructure, modern equipment, skilled professionals and efficient healthcare systems.

He called for stronger efforts to retain and continuously develop doctors, nurses, radiographers, laboratory scientists, technicians and other specialised healthcare workers.

He also advocated greater domestic capacity in medical technology, equipment maintenance and pharmaceutical production, stressing that these were essential to creating a resilient healthcare system.

Oyedele maintained that the ultimate measure of success should not be the number of facilities commissioned but the quality, affordability and sustainability of healthcare services delivered.

“The real test is whether the equipment still works in ten years, whether we retain qualified staff, and whether patients are treated with dignity, diagnosed earlier and able to afford the care they receive,” he said.

He said the healthcare investments aligned with the broader objective of the Federal Government’s economic reforms, which he described as converting macroeconomic stability into productive investment, improved public services and better living standards.

“Macroeconomic stability is not the destination. It is the foundation. We are converting stability into investment, investment into services, and growth into better lives,” Oyedele said.

He congratulated the NSIA and MedServe teams, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Bauchi and Oyo State Governments, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, relevant healthcare institutions in Ibadan, the IFC and other partners for delivering the projects.

The Federal Government reaffirmed its commitment to partnerships that mobilise capital, strengthen critical infrastructure and translate economic reforms into measurable improvements in the lives of Nigerians.