By Muhammad Amaan with agency report
The Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) has held a two-day public hearing on four health-related bills aimed at expanding access to digital health, restructuring professional regulatory bodies and strengthening the regulation of pharmacy, nursing, midwifery and radiography practices in Nigeria.
The public hearing was held on Thursday and Friday, in Abuja, Chaired by Senator Dr Ipalibo Harry Banigo, said the proposed legislation was part of efforts to address gaps in healthcare delivery, improve access to quality medical services and strengthen regulatory institutions in line with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Speaking at the public hearing, Banigo said the bills would help improve healthcare access, particularly for people living in rural and hard-to-reach communities, while promoting effective regulation and cooperation among healthcare professionals.
She explained that the committee considered proposals on digital health, the establishment and upgrading of federal medical centres, and amendments to laws governing healthcare professional regulatory bodies.
According to her, the proposed digital health legislation would provide a legal framework for the delivery of healthcare services through technology, making it easier for Nigerians in underserved communities to access medical services.
“We are passionate to see that health services are accessible for quality delivery and reach every nook and cranny of this nation, excluding not one single person. Every patient, every client is important,” she said.
Senator Banigo added that stakeholders who participated in the hearing expressed strong support for the eHealth bill because of its potential to improve access to healthcare and address geographical barriers.
“Our stakeholders were particularly very excited about the eHealth bill, and they really want to see it functioning in reality and being able to impact the lives of our people,” she said.
The senator also disclosed that the committee considered proposals to upgrade existing general hospitals to federal medical centres in areas where additional healthcare capacity was needed.
She said the proposed reforms were intended to improve the efficiency of healthcare institutions, strengthen professional regulation and ensure that patients remained at the centre of healthcare delivery.
Banigo stressed that the different regulatory bodies must work together rather than operate in isolation, noting that cooperation among healthcare professionals was essential to improving patient outcomes.
She expressed satisfaction with the participation of stakeholders, who submitted memoranda and made oral presentations during the hearing, adding that their contributions were being recorded verbatim to guide the committee’s recommendations.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by the Director of the Hospital Services Department, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Abisola Adegoke, presented the ministry’s position on the proposed amendments to the health laws.
The ministry proposed reducing the membership of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria from 81 to 24 to improve administrative efficiency, promote fiscal prudence and strengthen the council’s operations.
The proposal was contained in the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria Act Amendment Bill, 2026, identified in the ministry’s presentation as SB 1000.
Prof Pate said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria supported the proposed reduction, adding that the new structure would retain key professional and statutory representatives while making the council more manageable.
Under the proposed arrangement, the council would have a part-time chairman who must be a pharmacist with at least 25 years of post-registration experience.
Other members would include a representative of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, directors of pharmaceutical services representing the six geopolitical zones on a rotational basis, and deans of pharmacy faculties and colleges representing the six zones.
The proposed membership would also include representatives of the different organs of the pharmacy profession, the Director-General of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, and the head of pharmaceutical services of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
The registrar and chief executive of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria would serve as secretary to the council and its disciplinary tribunal, while two certified pharmacy technicians, one from the North and another from the South, would also be represented.
Pate urged the Senate committee to consider and adopt the ministry’s recommendations.
Pharm. Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), also supported the proposed reduction, citing the increasing number of universities offering pharmacy programmes and the need to maintain an effective regulatory structure.
Ahmed noted that the emergence of additional pharmacy-training institutions could make the existing council structure increasingly difficult to manage.
However, a representative of the Association of Nigerian Pharmacists proposed reducing the council’s membership further to 14.
The association said it broadly supported a smaller council but disagreed with some aspects of the proposed composition, particularly the inclusion of a representative of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, arguing that the body already had its own regulatory responsibilities.
On the proposed amendment to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria Act, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare recommended retaining the council’s existing 23-member governing board.
Prof Pate said the ministry and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria supported maintaining the composition established under Section 2 of the existing Act.
He explained that the nursing profession had one of the largest workforces in the country’s healthcare system, with practitioners serving across primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities.
According to the ministry, retaining the existing membership would preserve professional representation, technical expertise and effective oversight of nursing and midwifery practice.
The ministry also argued that maintaining the board’s composition was necessary to protect professional standards and sustain public confidence in the regulation of the professions.
Dr. Ndagi Alhassan, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), also urged the Senate committee to retain the 23-member board.
The council’s proposed composition includes representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health, nursing services directors from the six geopolitical zones, university nursing and midwifery departments, federal health institutions, accredited colleges of nursing, professional associations and public-interest groups.
Other categories include nursing educators, a nurse representing the Armed Forces or paramilitary services, a qualified obstetrician and gynaecologist, and a representative of the Federal Ministry of Education.
The registrar and chief executive would serve as secretary to the board.
The council maintained that the existing structure was necessary to preserve the professional expertise and national representation required for effective regulation and public safety.
The ministry also presented recommendations on the proposed amendment to the Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria Act, 2026, identified in its presentation as SB 1001.
The Coordinating Minister further said the ministry, working with the Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria, had identified areas where the proposed restructuring could affect the professional balance and technical expertise required for effective regulation.
He explained that the proposed amendment would remove the requirement that the board chairman be a qualified radiographer with at least 12 years of experience.
It would also remove the representation of four radiographers representing the states, eliminate a specific position for a therapeutic radiographer and introduce a separate practising radiologist representative.
The proposal would further expand community-interest representation to six persons while retaining representatives of relevant professional associations, radiography training institutions and the Federal Ministry of Health.
The ministry recommended retaining the requirement that the board chairman be a qualified radiographer with at least 12 years of experience.
It also proposed retaining representation for the Federal Ministry of Health, radiography training institutions and the Association of Radiographers of Nigeria.
Other recommendations included retaining one radiologist representing the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and maintaining the position for a therapeutic radiographer.
The ministry proposed replacing the proposed practising radiologist position with a nuclear medicine radiographer.
It further recommended replacing the six proposed community-interest positions with six radiographers representing Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones on a rotational basis.
The ministry also proposed retaining the registrar as a board member, provided the registrar was a qualified radiographer with at least 12 years of experience.
In addition, it recommended retaining one public-interest representative and changing the board’s name to the Radiography Registration Board of Nigeria to reflect the broader scope of the profession.
Prof Pate urged the Senate committee to consider and adopt the recommendations, stressing the importance of maintaining the professional qualifications and expertise needed to regulate radiography practice effectively.
Banigo also raised concerns about counterfeit medicines and unsafe food products, describing them as serious public health issues requiring careful legislative consideration.
She said efforts to improve public health could be undermined when people consumed fake medicines or contaminated food products.
The senator disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had requested additional time to study the relevant bills and submit detailed recommendations.
She said the committee would not rush the legislative process without adequately considering the possible effects of the proposed measures.
“This is a very serious area and it’s attracted a lot of comments. In fact, the Ministry of Health wanted us to give them time to make their own submissions, to look at it in detail,” she said.
Banigo added that the committee was committed to developing practical solutions that would protect Nigerians rather than introduce legislation that could worsen existing problems.
“We don’t want to be in a hurry to bring out anything that will worsen the situation. What we want to do is to build solutions, and that’s what the Senate Committee on Health is committed to doing,” she said.
Addressing concerns about shortages of pharmacists, doctors and nurses, Banigo said budgetary provisions had been made to increase admissions into pharmacy, medicine and nursing programmes across universities and teaching hospitals.
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She explained that the initiative was intended to expand the pool of trained healthcare professionals available to meet the country’s growing healthcare needs.
According to her, the intake of medical students had increased by 100, while admissions into pharmacy programmes had also risen.
She said increasing the number of trained professionals would help address manpower shortages and improve the availability of healthcare services across the country.
Banigo added that strengthening the workforce and improving the capacity of regulatory institutions were important to ensuring effective healthcare delivery.
The two-day public hearing brought together representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, professional regulatory bodies, healthcare associations and other stakeholders to examine the proposed legislation.
The submissions reflected differing positions on the appropriate size and composition of professional regulatory boards, particularly regarding the balance between administrative efficiency, professional representation and effective oversight.
While the ministry and the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria supported reducing the Pharmacy Council’s membership from 81 to 24, a representative of the Association of Nigerian Pharmacists proposed a 14-member council.
In contrast, the ministry and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria recommended retaining the latter’s 23-member governing board.
On radiography regulation, the ministry proposed changes aimed at preserving the representation of specialised practitioners and ensuring that the board’s leadership and administration retained the necessary professional qualifications and experience.
Senator Banigo said the committee would carefully consider the memoranda and oral submissions before preparing its reports and recommendations for further legislative action.
She reiterated that the ultimate objective was to strengthen healthcare institutions, expand access to services, address workforce shortages and ensure that healthcare regulation served the interests of patients and the Nigerian public.
