The Federal Government has partnered with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to strengthen accountability and prevent the diversion of public resources in Nigeria’s health sector.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, and the Chairman of the ICPC, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, jointly inaugurated a Joint Task Team of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the anti-corruption agency in Abuja on Monday.
Pate said the initiative was designed to identify institutional vulnerabilities, close loopholes and prevent the misuse of resources before they affect healthcare delivery.
He stressed that every naira invested in the health sector must translate into tangible benefits for Nigerians.
“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,” the minister said.
Pate said the ministry would not tolerate corruption, adding that effective governance must focus not only on responding to wrongdoing but also on identifying and addressing vulnerabilities that could enable corrupt practices.
Describing the Joint Task Team as “an instrument for institutional change”, the minister said its mandate would focus on prevention, institutional strengthening and improved oversight.
He disclosed that the Federal Government had introduced measures to strengthen accountability in health financing, including the deployment of 774 Performance and Financial Management Officers under BHCPF 2.0, with one officer assigned to each local government area to independently verify the receipt and utilisation of funds.
According to him, the ministry is also using verified National Identification Numbers to authenticate beneficiaries and reduce duplication, while strengthening fund-utilisation standards and digitalising processes to improve transparency and traceability.
Pate said the accountability measures would cover financing, procurement, infrastructure, medicines and service delivery.
He added that the partnership with the ICPC aligned with Pillar One of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, which focuses on effective governance, regulation, standards and accountability.
“Investment without integrity cannot deliver sustainable results,” he said.
Representing the ICPC chairman, the commission’s Executive Secretary, Mr Clifford Oparaodu, said the task team gave practical expression to the Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions.
Oparaodu said the MoU provided a framework for collaboration and preventive oversight, particularly in the management of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.
He said the ICPC’s preventive mandate was aimed at identifying weaknesses in government processes and eliminating opportunities for corruption.
“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 immunisation, mortality from preventable diseases, easy and affordable access to medical care at all levels,” he said.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Daju Kachollom, said effective stewardship of health resources was fundamental to improving health outcomes.
She disclosed that the MoU would run for two years, subject to renewal, while the Joint Task Team would be co-chaired by the Director of Hospital Services and a director of the ICPC.
Kachollom said the team would be based at the BHCPF secretariat and conduct assessments after each quarterly disbursement of the fund.
The co-chairmen of the task team, Dr Abisola Adegoke and Mr Shehu Gambo, pledged to carry out the assignment transparently and diligently.
Pate and Aliyu formally inaugurated the team and charged its members to recommend practical measures capable of strengthening transparency, accountability and value for money in the health sector.