Pate: Every Naira Invested in Health Must Deliver Value to Nigerians
Abuja, August 17, 2026 — The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, and the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, has jointly inaugurated a Joint Task Team of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the ICPC, to strengthen preventive controls, improve accountability and protect public investments across Nigeria’s health sector.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, CON, said the initiative was designed to identify institutional vulnerabilities, close loopholes and prevent the diversion or misuse of resources before they undermine health service delivery.
Prof. Pate stated that every naira invested in the health system carries an obligation to reach health facilities, health workers and Nigerians who depend on public healthcare services.
“When those resources are diverted, the cost is not abstract. It is a medicine that never arrives, equipment that is unavailable when needed, or a service that falls short. In this sector, corruption can cost lives,” he said.
The Coordinating Minister declared that the Ministry would not tolerate corruption, stressing that effective governance must go beyond reacting to wrongdoing after it occurs to proactively identifying and addressing vulnerabilities within the system.
He described the Joint Task Team as “an instrument for institutional change”, rather than another committee, noting that its mandate would centre on prevention, institutional strengthening and improved oversight.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to building a health system that Nigerians can trust, where resources are used for their intended purposes and institutions operate with integrity.
Prof. Pate highlighted measures already being implemented by the Federal Government to strengthen accountability in health financing, including under BHCPF 2.0, where 774 Performance and Financial Management Officers have been deployed, one to each Local Government Area, to independently verify the receipt and utilisation of funds.
He added that the Ministry was also using verified National Identification Numbers to authenticate beneficiaries and reduce duplication, while strengthening standards for fund utilisation, applying consequences for violations and digitalising processes to enable greater transparency and traceability from allocation to utilisation.
According to him, the same accountability standards must apply across all areas of the health sector, including financing, procurement, infrastructure, medicines and service delivery.
The Minister further underscored the importance of the ICPC’s preventive and oversight mandate, particularly its system-study function, state offices and Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units across government, which he said would complement the Ministry’s efforts to identify institutional weaknesses before they translate into failures.
Prof. Pate said the partnership aligns with Pillar One of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, which focuses on effective governance, regulation, standards and accountability, emphasizing that the initiative was not simply about increasing expenditure, but ensuring that every investment produces measurable value for Nigerians.
“Investment without integrity cannot deliver sustainable results,” he said.
The Coordinating Minister called for collective responsibility in promoting integrity across the health sector, noting that public servants, contractors, development partners and citizens all have roles to play in ensuring that public resources are protected and properly utilised.
He charged members of the Joint Task Team to discharge their responsibilities with professionalism, independence, courage and diligence, while ensuring that their recommendations produce sustainable institutional reforms beyond the lifespan of the Team.
“Identify the vulnerabilities. Recommend practical safeguards. And make sure your work outlasts the life of this Team,” Prof. Pate charged.
Also in his remarks, the Chairman Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, represented by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Clifford Oparaodu, said the establishment of the Joint Task Team gives practical expression to the Memorandum of Understanding between ICPC and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and also represents a shared commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability and integrity in Nigeria’s health sector.
He added that the MoU provides a practical framework for collaboration and preventive oversight in the management of health-sector resources, particularly the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, stressing that funds allocated for primary healthcare must reach the facilities and people for whom they are intended and must be utilized transparently, efficiently and in accordance with due process.
“Its purpose must be reflected in concrete outcomes” the chairman emphasized.
Dr. Musa Aliyu, further stated that one of the most important mandates of the ICPC is prevention through the identification of weaknesses in processes and procedures of how government businesses or services are delivered, with a view of eliminating the opportunities for corrupt practices.
“It is a cheaper, less intrusive but more enduring or sustainable way of fighting corruption” he stressed.
The chairman identified this approach as more important in a critical sector like health. “Corruption in the health sector is not measured only in financial losses or accounting irregularities. The losses are measured in maternal and infant mortality rates, rates of immunization, mortality from preventable diseases, easy and affordable access to medical care at all levels.” Dr. Aliyu said.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom S. mni, identified effective stewardship of health resources as fundamental to achieving better health outcomes for Nigerians.
She stated that the mandate of the Ministry is to save lives, reduce the physical and financial pain of ill-health, and produce health for all Nigerians, reiterating that every resource entrusted to the health sector must therefore be protected and directed towards that purpose.
” It is against this background that we consider this partnership with the ICPC both timely and important.” Daju said.
Explaining the timeframe and leadership structure of the Memorandum of Understanding, she said it runs for two years, subject to renewal; and the Team is co-chaired by the Director of Hospital Services, representing the Ministry, and a Director of the ICPC, with membership drawn from the relevant supervising offices and departments, including the Director of Human Resource Management and the Ministry’s Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit.
“In other words, this is a Team designed to be embedded in how the Ministry already works, not to sit outside it.”
She said the Joint Task Team with secretariat at BHCPF secretariat, will report through the Ministry’s established reporting and workflow structures and will carry out its assessments following each quarterly disbursement of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
In their separate vote of thanks, the Co-chairmen of the Task Team, the Director, Hospital Services Dr Abisola Adegoke mni and Mr. Shehu Gambo, Assistant Director, Financial Investigation ICPC, pledged to carry out the assignment deligently, transparently and assured that they will not fail of the confidence repose in them.
The Coordinating Minister, alongside the Chairman of the ICPC, formally inaugurated the Joint Task Team and charged its members to justify the confidence placed in them by delivering practical measures that strengthen transparency, accountability and value for money in the health sector.
Signed:
Ado Bako
Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations.
