2026 Budget: N’Assembly seeks start-up funding for new hospitals

The Joint Committee on Health of the National Assembly has urged the Joint Committee on Appropriations to include take-off grants in the 2026 budget to enable newly established federal hospitals commence full operations.

Ipalibo Banigo, Chairperson of the committee, made the request on Wednesday while presenting the harmonised report of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Health on the 2026 budget proposals of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Banigo explained that providing start-up funds for the new hospitals is critical to ensuring smooth and efficient operations from inception. She noted that take-off grants would address urgent operational needs and stabilise the institutions in their early stages.

According to her, the affected institutions include the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lafia, Nasarawa State; Federal University Teaching Hospital, Akure, Ondo State; Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Otukpo, Benue State; and the Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ila-Orangun, Osun State.

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Banigo further stated that the Federal Government is targeting six per cent of the total national budget, net of liabilities, for the health sector as part of efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery nationwide.

“The aim is to revitalise our hospitals with adequate medication and improved resources, and to ensure quality healthcare facilities across the country,” she said.

She disclosed that the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare proposed N1,170,495,177,648 for personnel costs, N57,031,955,090 for overheads, and N924,251,647,868 for capital expenditure, bringing the total proposed allocation to N2,136,248,295,543.

The senator added that during its review of the 2025 budget performance and the 2026 budget defence sessions, the committee observed that many hospitals had yet to receive full releases of their 2024 appropriations.

“Although the 2024 appropriations have been uploaded, about 60 per cent of payments are still pending in some cases, while in others only 30 per cent has been released,” she said.

Responding, Tahir Monguno, Deputy Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, assured the health panel that the concerns raised would be carefully examined.