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Teaching Hospitals Risk Losing Key Medical Staff as Experts Sound Alarm Over Mass Exodus

Published

1 year ago

January 21, 2025

Gloria Ikibah

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By Gloria Ikibah

Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) of teaching hospitals in Nigeria have expressed concerns over the increasing loss of doctors, nurses, and other skilled health workers, despite government investments in health infrastructure.

They ascribed the alarming trend, to poor remuneration and inadequate pay packages, adding that it threatens to leave the nation’s tertiary hospitals understaffed.

The CMD Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Professor Wasiu Adeyemo, and his counterpart from the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Professor Jesse Abiodun, raised these concerns during the 2025 budget defence session before the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions.

Professor Adeyemo highlighted the urgency of the matter, stating, “The rate at which medical workers are leaving the country is alarming. We need to act fast to address this situation.”

This warning underscores the broader implications of brain drain in the health sector, with CMDs urging immediate action to improve working conditions and retain skilled personnel in the country.

He said, “People resign, retire not even retirement, resignation almost every day. Yes. In the next one or two years, we are going to have all our hospitals empty. We need to do something about remuneration of all the health care workers.

“Otherwise, government is putting a lot of money in infrastructure, and we are going to have empty hospitals. The major reason why people leave is for economic reasons. Consultants are earning less than $1,000”.

Giving details of the Hospital’s 2024 budget performance, the CMD informed that, they had a total budget of N19.2 billion out of which personnel has N13.57 billio and a total overhead of N33.2 million.

He added, “In terms of performance and utilization total Overhead was hundred percent as of December for the total Personnel, 91 percent performance but for the capital project 45 percent. So outstanding is 55 percent. November and December are released today we would cover maybe about 85 percent”.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo, while responding to observations by members of the Committee regarding personnel performance, explained that the hospital recorded a 95 percent performance rate.

He attributed this to the payment of benefits and other activities arising from the high number of resignations and retirements within the year.

He stated, “The 95 percent personnel performance we achieved is largely due to payments made for benefits and other related activities triggered by the resignations and retirements we experienced this year.”

“For the proposal for 2025, a total budget of 32.7 billion, out of which a total overhead which is better than that of last year. Personnel is 20.3. I think it’s 13 last year”.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof. Jesse Abiodun, expressed concern over the delayed release of budgeted funds to the hospital, stating that this has significantly hampered its operations.

Providing details of UCH’s 2024 budget, Prof. Abiodun disclosed that the hospital was allocated a capital appropriation of ₦5,593,110,394. However, he revealed that only 38 percent of the funds had been released, leaving a balance of 62 percent yet to be disbursed.

He said, “We have the 72% left. Yes, we actually were among the last people to be batched for payment, and the payment started coming in actually in this December. We were able to even utilize this 38 percent because we had already done the cash plan before the release.

“For 2025, that is on page one. So for the capital, we are proposing N4, 387, 763,661 for capital. This is a bit less than what we had in 2024. And that’s because of this envelope system, what we’re given, we have to work with it.

“The overhead, we have N690,006,464 only. There’s a bit of increase over that of 2024 because of the outrageous bills we are getting from Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company”.

Earlier in his remarks, the Committee Chairman, Rep. Patrick Umoh charged the CMDs of University Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centers (FMCs) to be thorough in their presentations in order to provide a clear picture of their situations.

He said, “The reality is that you must extract the proposal made by Mr. President as it affects your medical center. It should be part of your budget, your presentation. The report of the 2024 budget performance and 2025 budget proposal is given provisional approval for now”.

Rep. Umoh lamented the precarious situation facing tertiary health institutions in the country.

The Chairman ruled that, while committee can not attend to all the health institutions, it will collect all their correspondences and submissions from the outstanding teaching hospitals to work on for further deliberations.

Related Topics:chairman Lagos Nigeria president workers

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NMDPRA approves F-500 Encapsulator Agent for oil depots, pipelines with strict three-year terms

Published

16 minutes ago

April 21, 2026

EMMANUEL AGAJI

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The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has approved the F-500 Encapsulator Agent fire suppressant for use across midstream and downstream petroleum operations, subject to strict three-year conditions and regulatory monitoring.

The fluorine-free agent is now cleared for deployment in depots, pipelines and processing facilities, the NMDPRA said in a circular dated March 12, 2026 and signed by Mustapha Lamorde, PhD, on behalf of the Authority Chief Executive.

The sector-wide approval followed a two-step process.

Okama Infinity Nigeria Limited received company-specific clearance in February 2025 after the product passed Safety Data Sheet validation and eco-toxicity tests under Nigerian conditions.

The March directive extends eligibility to all licensees, operators, and service providers.

Under the Petroleum Industry Act and 2023 environmental regulations, the NMDPRA said the approval is conditional and revocable. It runs for three years from March 12, 2026.

Operators must comply fully with existing petroleum and environmental laws. Any change to the product’s formulation without prior approval voids the clearance and triggers mandatory re-certification.

Distributors must file quarterly inventory returns showing volumes imported, distributed, and deployed. The regulator reserves the right to review, revise, or withdraw approval based on field performance or new evidence.

The F-500 Encapsulator Agent offers a non-toxic, fluorine-free alternative to older foam systems that have raised environmental concerns. Fire risk remains a major hazard in petroleum storage and transport.

The NMDPRA said the rollout will be closely monitored to ensure field performance matches technical claims. For operators, the approval adds fire response capability but also increases reporting and compliance duties.

Managing Director of Okama Infinity Nigeria Limited, Sir Oghenekaro Jockey expressed joy over the approval granted by the regulatory agency.

Jockey assured stakeholders of the company’s commitment to excellent service delivery.

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Ex SGF Babachir reveals what Buhari told him about Tinubu before his demise

Published

2 hours ago

April 21, 2026

EMMANUEL AGAJI

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Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal has shared details of a private conversation he had with late President Muhammadu Buhari about his political ties and disagreements involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Recall that Lawal spoke in an interview on Channels Television, where he said the conversation happened shortly before Buhari’s death.

He explained that Buhari warned him about possible political disagreements that could come up between him and Tinubu in the future.

According to him, the late president said such situations were likely but should be handled carefully.

He said Buhari advised that any clash in political views should remain focused on governance and public issues.

The former president, he added, made it clear that personal attacks should be avoided, and discussions should remain centered on national matters rather than personal matters.

Lawal said he accepted the advice and made a promise to follow it. He explained that since then, he has tried to keep his public comments about Tinubu within political issues only, without bringing in personal matters.

He added that Buhari told him he might end up in political disagreement with someone he considered a friend, but he should avoid turning it into something personal. Lawal said he agreed to that guidance at the time and has tried to respect it in his political activities.

Quoting his exchange with Buhari, Lawal said the late president told him, “You are going to fight your friend politically; please promise me you will not go personal with your fight.”

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BREAKING! APC 2027: ‘Consensus Ticket Requires Consent of All Aspirants’ Says National Chair

Published

2 hours ago

April 21, 2026

EMMANUEL AGAJI

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The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has stated that the party can only adopt a consensus candidate where all aspirants voluntarily agree to the arrangement.

Speaking on the party’s nomination process, the chairman emphasized that consensus candidacy is not imposed but must be the product of mutual consent among all contenders seeking the ticket.

In a statement, the chairman clarified that any consensus candidate must have backing of all the contenders.

— Prof. Nentawe