NEWS
Union Tells Tinubu To Appoint A Non-physician As Health Minister
The Joint Health Sector Union, JOHESU, has asked President Bola Tinubu to appoint a non-physician health minister even though it opposes the sale of teaching hospital facilities to private profiteers while the review of ministerial nominees continues.
Mathew Ajurotu stated to other medical professionals that the sale of the teaching hospitals will negatively effect their emoluments contrary to their perceptions in a letter to the President signed by the Acting National Secretary for the National President, JOHESU, and AHPA.
JOHESU argued that the salaries of 20% of the sector’s workers, which account for 60% of the personnel expenditures for the overall health staff in FHIs, are not served by the sales of Federal Health Institutions.
The health workers called for caution on the part of other medical professionals who have been assured that the sale of the facilities won’t affect them.
JOHESU/AHPA said that despite constituting 20 per cent of the total workforce in the sector, it is certain that private profiteers will fire them given reducing overhead costs.
According to them and the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Association, AHPA, those advocating for concessionaires are avaricious and would increase the healthcare problem and indexes.
The group pleaded with well-meaning Nigerians to take action and prevent the Federal Government from privatising the FHIs.
The letter further states: “Conscionable Nigerians should assist the Federal Government to be decisive in taking a position that the profiteers, concessionaires, greedy entrepreneurs and their collaborators in Government jostling to take over the FHIs be responsible enough to build their world-class health facilities like their presumed equivalents do in the global arena.
“Even in Nigeria today, we have a few tertiary hospitals like Duchess and Reddington Hospital which continue to make footprints in the sands of our evolving healthcare dispensation.
“In Lagos State, where the privatisation of healthcare was kick-started by these same dramatis personae, the experiment has failed. The privatised pharmacies which were about six at inception have failed in at least four of the centres at huge losses to the Lagos State Government, LASG.”
At the Federal level, the commercialisation of the Pharmacy facility of the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, collapsed and the concession of Garki Hospital, Abuja, has never been a value-added decision.
Today, that facility is a shadow of itself, as it has become inaccessible to a wide range of consumers of health in the Abuja area.
“We therefore strongly urge the Federal Government not to contemplate the privatisation of Teaching Hospital facilities to private profiteers. We must seize the discourse to advise other health professionals who have been promised that the concession of these facilities will not affect them to be wary and discern wisely.
“Private profiteers will naturally get rid of the block of health professionals whose wages consume 60 per cent of the personnel cost of the entire health workforce in FHIs even when they constitute less than 20 per cent of the entire personnel in the health sector,” it added.
Privatising FHIs, against healthcare equity, accessibility
JOHESU listed the consequences of concessions, privatisation, and outsourcing saying that it does not promote Universal Health Coverage, but would lead to inequity and accessibility rather than efficiency and profitability.
The letter further reads, “Given the monopolistic nature of health systems because of the inelastic nature of their demands, there is little or no probability of competitiveness. It follows that a monopoly that comes with exploitation becomes the order of the day.
“High charges generate crazy profits at the detriment of efficiency, which ultimately defeats the goal of accessibility to health facilities in real terms because health cannot be delivered to vulnerable groups.
“Equity and accessibility rather than efficiency and profitability should be the benchmark to measure performance in healthcare. Patient-care-centred services cannot be the hallmark of concessions and privatisation because profit is the watchword.
“In the proposed privatisation and concession models, the Government’s role is largely regulatory, which is at the same cost as owning the FHI. As stronger institutions outlive the weaker ones which further limits the availability and choices of the citizens, the monopolistic tendencies of formidable profiteers play out at the detriment of consumers of health.
“Privatisation calls to question the integrity of the management of the FHIs dominated by Physicians since the advent of the Teaching Hospital Act of 1985. It is the biggest confirmation of the failure of Physicians in the running of the public hospital system in Nigeria.
“How come these same facilities hitherto dubbed Centres of Excellence in some instances have suddenly become failed enterprises? The only explanation remains that Nigerian Physicians are not seasoned administrators or managers of cognate experience.
“The government, therefore, needs to tinker with the health system by reverting management of FHIs to professionally trained administrators and managers, while health professionals are allowed to embrace their areas of due competence in the public’s good. This is the trend which is in alignment with global best practices,” JOHESU added.
Increased drug costs, out-of-pocket expenses
The health workers further said that privatising teaching hospitals would increase the cost of drugs and diagnostic services which will lead to higher out-of-pocket expenses, leading to more difficulty in healthcare access.
The letter reads, “Generally, privatisation of health services is a precursor to the increased cost of drugs and diagnostic services which will naturally impact on out-of-pocket costs, leading to hardship and more stress junctures in accessing healthcare.
“The privatisation of health facilities is a hurricane that compounds unproductivity in healthcare. The preponderance of Nigerians who live in poverty and squalor will not be able to access or afford health and its major components, which include the use of safe and efficacious drugs in the event of this dreaded reality,” it added.
CEOs of FHIs, MDAs must take hospital management courses
While alleging that the MDAs are adjudged to be the most corrupt sector, JOHESU urged Federal Government to compel CEOs of FHIs, Departments, and Agencies to undergo Health Systems and hospital management courses.
The letter said, “In the interim, the FG must compel all the CEOs of the FHIs, Departments, and Agencies of the Health Sector to run administrative as well as management programmes in Health Systems with bias in hospital management. This will help these incumbent CEOs to administer albeit much better the FHIs, other Departments, and Agencies.
“The FMOH must however make it abundantly clear that it will no longer be automatic for erring CEOs of FHIs to complete their tenure of four years when found wanting.
“Permanently, the FG must return the business of hospital management and administration to seasoned administrators and managers of cognate experience.
“All health professionals who desire to head hospitals in Nigeria must henceforth undertake specialist management and administrative courses at post-graduate levels in specialised schools and institutes.
“These health professionals including Pharmacists, Physicians, Physiotherapists, Medical Laboratory Scientists, and other health workers must be made to study health administration and management in their reviewed curriculum even at the undergraduate level moving forward.
“The Federal Government is enjoined to encourage the management of FHIs that are ready to embark or consolidate the concept of amenity facilities in the FHIs. These services will be available to the nouveau riche who can afford such hyped services.
It will reduce health tourism and save the nation’s hard-earned forex.
“The militating bane remains the tendency to abuse these amenity facilities in FHIs by some of the CEOs.
“We at JOHESU/AHPA have had cause to send evidence-based complaints about misnomers in the handling of DRF Funds and mismanagement of amenity ward resources by some of the CEOs of FHIs.
“An outstanding instance was the report made on the MD/CEO of the NOH, Igbobi which made the FMOH initially declare its readiness to probe this MD/CEO until it later reneged on the probe,” it added.
Incentivise Health Workers Offering Surgeries, Pharmaceutical Care
JOHESU appealed, “Government must incentivise all health professionals and workers who render services including surgeries, pharmaceutical care, diagnostic services with agreed percentages of income realized as amenity allowances to compensate for their skills, time and the totality of their output.
“Your Excellency, as Ministers will be deployed to Ministries in the days ahead, JOHESU/AHPA reiterates its calls for the appointment of a non-Physician Health Minister to pave the way for the restoration of the hitherto great times when Health Administrators steered the ship of healthcare successfully to attract the likes of the Saudi Royal family to UCH, Ibadan in the ‘70s.
“This was the era our Health System was rated as one of the top five in the commonwealth,” JOHESU added.
International News
‘Another Oil Shock Is Coming’ — Badenoch Calls for North Sea Drilling Amid Middle East Supply Disruptions
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has warned that another global oil shock could be looming amid disruptions to key energy infrastructure and shipping routes in the Middle East.
Badenoch made the warning in a post on X on Sunday, September 20, while pointing to the recent drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, restrictions affecting the Strait of Hormuz and threats to shipping around the Red Sea.
“Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline has been damaged by drone attacks. The strait of Hormuz is restricted, Houthi bandits threaten shipping routes into the Red Sea. Another oil shock is coming,” Badenoch wrote.
SEE MORE: Middle East Crises Pump Fuel Prices Upwards with Attacks on Iran, Saudi Arabia
She criticised the UK government’s handling of the situation and argued that Britain should increase domestic oil and gas production.
“Yet our Prime Minister and his Cabinet are behaving like a flock of ostriches, heads buried so deep in the sand they could strike oil themselves,” she added.
“The answer is simple: DRILL OUR OWN OIL AND GAS IN THE NORTH SEA.”
Saudi oil pipeline hit by drone attack
The warning comes after Saudi Arabia’s critical East-West oil pipeline was damaged in a drone attack earlier this month.
The 1,200-kilometre pipeline, operated by Saudi Aramco, transports crude oil across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, providing an alternative export route when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted.
Saudi officials said the September 11 attack involved drones coming from Iraq. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack in initial reports.
A subsequent Reuters analysis of satellite imagery found that three pumping stations, rather than two previously identified, had been damaged.
Industry sources disclosed that repairs could take between five and six weeks, although partial operations could resume sooner.
The pipeline had been carrying around 4 million to 5 million barrels of crude oil per day, equivalent to approximately 4% to 5% of global oil supply. Its shutdown has therefore raised concerns about additional pressure on already-disrupted global energy supplies.
The attack also affected Saudi oil exports.
Reuters reported on September 18 that Saudi Aramco had informed at least two European refining customers that they would receive no Saudi crude deliveries in October, following the pipeline disruption.
Hormuz and Red Sea disruptions
The pipeline attack has occurred against the backdrop of continuing disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil shipments.
The East-West pipeline had become particularly important because it allowed Saudi Arabia to move crude to the Red Sea without relying entirely on the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters reported that the pipeline had served as a major alternative route while the strait was largely shut by the ongoing conflict.
Shipping through the Red Sea is also facing renewed security concerns following advances and attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
According to report on September 17, there is continued tensions involving the Houthis and Saudi Arabia were adding to concerns over regional energy infrastructure and shipping.
Earlier today, there are fresh Houthi claims of missile and drone attacks targeting strategic sites in Riyadh, with the developments contributing to renewed pressure on Saudi and Gulf markets.
The Arewa Oil and Gas Marketers Association of Nigeria (AROGMA) has challenged the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) over its claim that it does not have the power to determine or influence petrol prices in Nigeria.
AROGMA said the regulator should exercise its statutory oversight responsibilities under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), particularly as Nigerians continue to face the impact of rising petrol prices.
The association’s President, Bashir Ahmad Danmalam, made the position known in a statement issued to journalists in Kano on Sunday, September 20, 2026.
ALSO READ: ‘We Don’t Fix Pump Prices’ — NMDPRA Breaks Silence on Rising Petrol Prices
Danmalam said AROGMA participated in the legislative process that produced the PIA and was therefore familiar with the provisions governing the powers and responsibilities of the NMDPRA.
According to him, Section 164 of the PIA gives the regulator oversight functions which should be exercised transparently in the interest of Nigerians.
“Section 164 gives NMDPRA oversight functions, and these must be carried out transparently for the benefit of the people,” Danmalam said.
He added, “The Petroleum Industry Act was not passed in isolation. Stakeholders like AROGMA contributed to its development, and we understand the provisions.”
The association’s position comes days after the NMDPRA clarified that it does not fix the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, under Nigeria’s deregulated petroleum market.
The regulator said Section 205(1) of the PIA provides that wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products should be based on unrestricted free-market pricing conditions.
It further explained that Sections 205(2) to 205(4) restrict government intervention in petroleum pricing to exceptional circumstances where there is formal evidence of a declared market failure.
The NMDPRA maintained that no such market failure had been declared and that it therefore does not issue administrative price templates or arbitrarily determine petrol pump prices.
However, the authority also cited Section 216 of the PIA, which empowers it to prevent anti-competitive practices, price-fixing and abuse of market dominance in the petroleum industry.
Reacting to the position, Danmalam said petroleum pricing remained a major concern for marketers and consumers and urged the regulator to acknowledge and exercise its responsibilities within the law.
“The NMDPRA must exercise these powers responsibly and in the interest of Nigerians, rather than denying its mandate,” he said.
He warned that failure to address concerns surrounding petroleum pricing could worsen economic hardship and deepen public distrust in the petroleum sector.
The NMDPRA had said it was “fully sensitive” to the difficulties caused by rising petrol prices and was working to protect consumers and promote fair competition within the existing legal framework.
The authority also disclosed that it was collaborating with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to monitor the petroleum market and investigate practices including price-gouging, collusion and under-dispensing.
AROGMA said the disagreement over the regulator’s role highlights the need for greater clarity and collaboration among government agencies and petroleum industry stakeholders as Nigerians continue to grapple with the impact of petrol prices.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have commenced moves to finalise and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening collaboration in professional accounting education, financial crime investigation and continuing professional development for police personnel.
The development was disclosed by ICAN on Sunday, following an engagement between ICAN and the Department of Training and Development of the Nigeria Police Force held on Friday, September 18, 2026, at the Akintola Williams House, Abuja.
SEE MORE: Police Probe PCRC Chairman Olaniyan Over Alleged ₦178m Financial Crimes
The delegation of the Nigeria Police Force was led by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Department of Training and Development, DIG Isyaku Mohammed, FCNA, PhD.
The delegation was received by ICAN’s 62nd President and Chairman of Council, Hajia Queensley Sofuratu Seghosime, mni, MSc, FCA, alongside members of the ICAN Council and Management.
Speaking at the meeting, Seghosime said the engagement was aimed at translating the understandings reached during ICAN’s earlier meeting with the Inspector General of Police into practical initiatives.
She said the proposed collaboration would focus particularly on professional accounting education, specialised financial crime training and continuing professional development for police personnel.
She highlighted the proposed introduction of the Accounting Technicians Scheme West Africa (ATSWA) for eligible Police Academy cadets and personnel.
According to her, the collaboration would also involve the development of specialised training in forensic accounting, financial analysis, asset tracing and digital financial evidence.
In his remarks, DIG Mohammed requested ICAN’s support in adapting ATSWA for integration into the Police Academy and training colleges.
He also sought ICAN’s support in developing practical financial crime training and providing technical input into the Force’s financial investigation procedures and reporting tools.
At the meeting, ICAN formally presented its Draft MoU to the Nigeria Police Force for review and further input.
Both parties agreed to work towards the finalisation and signing of the MoU.
After the agreement is signed, a Joint Technical and Implementation Team will be constituted to develop the inaugural work plan and implementation timetable.
The proposed collaboration is expected to provide a structured pathway for police personnel to access professional accountancy education while strengthening their capacity to investigate the increasingly complex financial dimensions of crime.
It is also expected to enhance the professional development of police personnel and provide specialised technical knowledge that can support financial crime investigations and related enforcement activities.
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ICAN, Police Move to Finalise MoU on Financial Crime Investigation
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