By Joy Odor Abuja
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that fixing Nigeria’s chronic hospital power crisis is now a matter of national urgency, warning that unreliable electricity in health facilities is costing lives daily.
Speaking through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, at the maiden National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector in Abuja, the President described frequent blackouts in tertiary hospitals as “a life-threatening challenge that cannot continue under our administration.”
“In surgical theatres, maternity wards, intensive care units, laboratories, and emergency rooms across the country, power outages too often compromise safety, interrupt care, and cost lives.
“These outages cannot continue, and under our administration, they should not. Lives are at stake. We must act now,” Tinubu declared.
The President hailed the collaboration between the Ministries of Health and Power as proof of his administration’s commitment to inter-agency synergy, stressing that reliable power is central to the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He outlined plans to deploy off-grid solar and hybrid systems in hospitals, incentivise private investment, and leverage blended financing with development partners.
“This dialogue must not be a talk shop,” he warned. “It must yield actionable outcomes, alignment of policies, institutionalisation of energy audits in hospitals, mobilisation of green financing, and a results-driven accountability framework.”
Coordinating Minister of Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, noted that power and connectivity remain the “missing links” in Nigeria’s health transformation, while Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, cited a BudgIT survey ranking poor electricity supply as the second-biggest barrier to healthcare after funding gaps.
“Every time a hospital is plunged into darkness, lives are put at risk,” Salako stressed.
Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, described the dialogue as a turning point in linking energy with healthcare delivery, highlighting reforms under the Electricity Act 2023 and ongoing renewable energy projects, including solar mini-grids for health facilities.
Permanent Secretary of Health, Daju Kachollom, underscored the urgency: “Electricity in hospitals is a matter of life, dignity, and hope.”
The two-day dialogue, themed “Powering Health Through Public-Private Synergy: Energising Nigeria’s Health Sector for the Future”, brought together diplomats, policymakers, security experts, and healthcare professionals.
It concludes today with a series of technical sessions expected to produce concrete roadmaps for powering Nigeria’s health facilities.
