By Muhammad Amaan
The Federal Government on Wednesday approved a combined sum of N302.30 billion for a new National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment Centre in Abuja.
The approvals were disclosed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Pate also disclosed a series of approvals for the National Hospital Abuja, describing the facility’s condition as long overdue for attention.
He said, “This was a hospital established 25, 26 years ago to be a quaternary centre. But if you go into the National Hospital, it has not received the requisite attention in infrastructure and equipment for the last 25, 26 years.”
Prof. Pate revealed that the council approved a new administrative management block for the hospital, awarded to Visible Construction Limited at N18.74bn; the construction of modular clinics and theatres across various specialties, awarded to Strabik Construction Limited at N64.92bn.
The high-end wing was awarded to CBC Global Civil Construction Nigeria Limited at N133bn, with a 24-month completion period; and a dedicated Neuroscience Institute, also awarded to CBC Global Civil and Building Construction Limited, at N69bn.
“Neuroscience, neurosurgical interventions, whether radiological, interventional or rehabilitative, require dedicated infrastructure to cater to those needs for patients, not only here in Abuja but all over our country,” Pate said.
He added that the approvals that FEC granted, “if you add cumulatively the investment in the National Hospital over the last 27 years, is far less than what this government has been able to do today.”
The minister said building on the administration’s earlier investment in cancer treatment centres in Katsina, Benin and Enugu, the council approved the design, construction, furnishing, equipment, supervision and commissioning of a flagship National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment Centre, awarded to CBC Global Civil and Building Construction Nigeria Limited at N302.30bn, with a 36-month completion period.
He revealed, “These two major investments are really modernising the infrastructural landscape for the health sector, which will serve Nigerians and hopefully make it less likely for Nigerians to have to travel long distances to get the care they need.
“Quality healthcare is not cheap. The Federal Government is investing, and we’re happy that some states are also investing, because you cannot have the healthcare system you wish for if you don’t put the resources behind it.”
Pate said that the contracts followed due process through the Bureau of Public Procurement.
“This is unprecedented, because to be honest, Nigeria has not invested significantly or seriously in health infrastructure.
“If you look at roads, there are hundreds of billions that are being awarded every day, and they are very necessary.
“But when it comes to investing in health, we are not used to those major investments. Now we are beginning to change that,” he said.
