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By Gloria Ikibah

The Minister of Health, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate, has said that the Ministry was not able to make use of its 2025 capital budget, as it received only ₦36 million only of the ₦218 billion appropriated for the year.

The Minister stated this during the 2026 budget defence session with the House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services. According to him, while entire personnel budget of the ministry was released and fully expended, but it was not the same with the capital component due to the bottom-up cash planning system operated by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

He further disclosed that the Ministry was unable to have access to some counterpart funds as a result of delays in the release of Nigeria’s counterpart contributions, he further noted that implementation of the 2025 capital budget was consequently stalled by unforeseen circumstances.

Prof. Pate said that the nation’s health sector was guided by Vision 20:2020, Medium-Term National Development Plan (NDP) 2021–2025, and National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP) II.

He said the overarching goal of the Nigerian Constitution and the National Health Act (NHAct) is to guarantee the right to health for all Nigerians, noting that the 2016 National Health Policy provides the implementation framework for translating the provisions of the National Health Act and the Sustainable Development Goals into improved health outcomes and wellbeing for citizens.

“The principles of Universal Health Coverage are central to the National Health Policy objective of strengthening Nigeria’s health system—particularly the Primary Health Care subsystem—to deliver quality, effective, efficient, equitable, accessible, affordable, acceptable and comprehensive health services to all Nigerians,” he said.

Prof. Pate also revealed that the policies and strategies supporting the 2026 budget are derived from the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP), which outlines the Federal Government’s development priorities.

He explained that the Ministry’s 2026 proposed budget was prepared using the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), in line with the National Development Plan 2021–2025, which emphasises justification and allocation of resources to projects and programmes based on actual needs. He added that the proposal aligns with the policy thrust and execution priorities of the Federal Government, as well as the ministerial deliverables of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Minister noted that the 2026 budget proposal is anchored on the 2016 National Health Policy and guided by the Federal Ministry of Health’s Strategic Blueprint Initiatives, which serve as key policy instruments for achieving ministerial deliverables and advancing the global agenda of Universal Health Coverage.

He added that the National Health Policy 2016, themed “Promoting the Health of Nigerians to Accelerate Socio-economic Development,” provides the foundation for the National Strategic Health Development Plan II and supports accelerated implementation of the National Health Act, 2014.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the House Committee on Healthcare Services, Rep. Amos Gwamna Magaji, directed the Minister to furnish the Committee with all relevant documents relating to donor funds received by the Ministry and details of how such funds were utilised.