The federal government has urged the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to strengthen professional accountability and take a leading role in the fight against quackery in the health sector.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the NMA’s First Ordinary National Executive Council meeting of the new National Executive Committee for 2026.

The meeting, themed “Transforming Healthcare Practice in Nigeria: Building Trust, Accountability and Collaborative Excellence”, brought together medical practitioners, senior members of the profession, government officials and policymakers.

Health sector reforms

Mr Salako said the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, signed in December 2023, had recorded 84 per cent implementation, according to the 2025 Joint Annual Review.

He said the health sector’s share of the national budget had risen to 5.2 per cent, while funding under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) increased from N131.5 billion in 2024 to N299 billion in 2026.

He said the increased investment had translated into improvements in primary healthcare delivery.

“More than 8,000 primary health care centres now receive direct facility financing, close to 4,000 PHCs have been upgraded, and monthly patient visits to Fund-supported facilities have risen from about 10 million in early 2024 to 45 million by mid-2025,” Mr Salako said.

He also highlighted gains under the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, saying the 172 local government areas with the highest burden recorded a 17 per cent reduction in maternal deaths and a 12 per cent reduction in newborn deaths.

According to him, more than 48,000 women received free emergency obstetric care, while over 4,000 free caesarean sections were performed in National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) empanelled facilities.

He added that more than 4,700 women received free vesico-vaginal fistula repairs across 207 facilities.

On health insurance, Mr Salako said coverage had increased from about 16 million Nigerians in 2023 to more than 22 million.

Health workforce

Mr Salako said 37,000 health workers had been recruited into federal hospitals since 2024, while medical school quotas had been doubled to 10,000.

He added that N110 billion had been committed to upgrading 18 training institutions.

He also said a National Policy on Health Workforce Migration and a Diaspora Health Portal had been adopted.

Call for accountability

Mr Salako said the government was delivering on funding and policy, but patients ultimately judged the health system by their experiences with healthcare professionals.

He therefore urged the NMA to strengthen clinical governance, ensure accurate reporting of deaths and conclude disciplinary cases.

He also condemned absenteeism, the diversion of patients to private facilities and informal payments by healthcare workers.

“The government will never sacrifice public health on the altar of professional solidarity,” he said.

On quackery, Mr Salako described the practice as “homicide by instalment”.

READ ALSO: Federal govt launches alcohol policy, targets harmful use, illicit trade

He also cited the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control’s (NAFDAC) removal of falsified drugs worth N1 trillion from Aba, Onitsha and Lagos.

Organ harvesting investigation

Mr Salako also announced an investigation into a viral report alleging the existence of an organ-harvesting syndicate in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, through its National Tertiary Health Institutions Standard Committee, had developed national standards and guidelines for organ and tissue transplantation.

According to him, the guidelines require informed consent and prohibit the commercialisation of organ and tissue transplantation.

By Constance Athekame

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says it has expanded the country’s grid wheeling capacity to over 8,700 MegaWatts (MW) in the last one year.

Mr Oluwagbenga Ajiboye, TCN’S Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider (TSP) disclosed this on Thursday at a three -day capacity workshop for Power Correspondents in Keffi , Nasarawa State.

The workshop has the theme, ”Assessing the Impact and Challenges of Transmission Network in Nigeria”.

According to Ajiboye, if the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) are ready to pick load, TCN can conveniently wheel 8,700MW bulk electricity.

“Through a blend of internally funded initiatives and over 1.4 billion dollars in multilateral development financing, TCN is systematically rehabilitating ageing assets and expanding the transmission network.

H said that a major pillar of the company’s infrastructure development drive was the deployment of over 89 power transformers across the network.

He said that the addition were done across Lagos, Abuja, Benin,Kano, Jos,Gombe, Oshogbo, Asaba and other locations across the country.

Ajiboye said that that the rollout of the transformers added over 8,500 Mega Volt Ampree (MVA) of new capacity to the transmission network thereby enhancing bulk power delivery to DisCos nationwide.

”With the addition of 300 MVA transformer units at strategic locations, including Katampe, Lekki, Ikeja West and Akangba, TCN is actively addressing critical load constraints.

”This targeted expansion ensures that increased transmission capacity translates into improved operational resilience and enhanced peak power delivery to Nigerian homes and businesses.” he said.

He also said that preventive maintenance had been carried out on more than two thirds of all TCN’S locations nationwide.

He said that the company would continue to work with the office of the National Security Advisor (ONSA), security agencies and community vigilante structures to protect critical power infrastructure

Ajiboye commended the media for its sustained role in shaping public understanding of the power sector.

According to him, transparent engagement with the energy-reporting media remains vital to building public trust and ensuring that technical realities are accurately communicated to the public.

Earlier, Assistant General Manager, Public Affairs, TCN’S, Mr Eric Ene, said that the engagement served as a strategic platform for TCN’S executives and technical experts to provide detailed insights into grid expansion efforts.

He said that the workshop would also give details on preventive maintenance, system stability initiatives, and the broader roadmap for the nation’s power transmission infrastructure.

Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman