The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has disclosed that only N36 million was released from the N218 billion capital allocation approved for the health sector in the 2025 fiscal year, a development he said severely undermined project execution nationwide.
Pate revealed this in a statement on Monday while defending the ministry’s 2026 budget proposal before the House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services.
“Out of the N218bn appropriated to the health sector by the parliament for the execution of capital projects in the 2025 fiscal year, only N36m was released,” the minister told lawmakers.
He explained that although the personnel budget was fully released and utilised, the capital component was largely inaccessible due to cash flow constraints and systemic challenges.
“While our personnel cost was fully released, the capital budget suffered significant setbacks arising from cash flow limitations and institutional bottlenecks,” Pate said.
The minister specifically blamed the bottom up cash planning system operated by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, noting that it restricted timely access to funds meant for capital projects.
“The current cash planning process has limited our ability to draw funds as and when projects are ready for execution, despite the ministry’s preparedness,” he added.
Pate also revealed that delays in Nigeria’s counterpart funding for donor supported health programmes further constrained access to external financing.
“Our inability to promptly provide counterpart funding affected our eligibility to access some donor resources, thereby slowing down critical interventions,” he said.
According to the minister, the funding gap stalled several ongoing projects across the country, worsening delays in health infrastructure development and service delivery.
“These funding shortfalls stalled projects nationwide, delayed the procurement of essential medical equipment, and slowed the completion of hospitals and laboratories,” Pate said.
He warned that unless capital releases improve, efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system and expand access to quality services would continue to face serious challenges.