By James Isaac, Abuja
Nigeria’s tertiary healthcare system is facing severe operational strain due to rising electricity costs, acute manpower shortages and emergency response challenges, the Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abuja, Professor Saad Ahmed, has said.
Professor Ahmed disclosed this while briefing the Senate Committee on Health during a budget defence session by chief medical directors of federal hospitals for the 2026 fiscal year.
He told lawmakers that escalating overhead costs, particularly electricity and diesel expenses, have become a major threat to the sustainability of healthcare services in federal hospitals.
“One major area of challenge we highlighted is overhead cost. Electricity and diesel consume a huge portion of our overhead,” Professor Ahmed said. “We appealed to the Senate Committee to intervene so hospitals can continue delivering services without grinding to a halt.”
According to him, the surge in energy costs is steadily eroding funds meant for patient care, equipment maintenance and emergency services, leaving hospital managers struggling to keep facilities running.
Beyond financial pressures, the FMC Abuja boss warned of a worsening manpower crisis, noting that Nigeria is steadily losing medical professionals to other countries due to global economic pressures and local system challenges.
He explained that the Federal Government is increasingly unable to retain enough doctors to meet national healthcare needs, describing the situation as a system-wide problem affecting federal, state and private hospitals.
“This is not a challenge limited to state hospitals alone. Federal and private hospitals are equally affected,” he said.
Professor Ahmed also identified housemanship the compulsory internship period for newly qualified doctors as a critical pressure point in the healthcare system. He explained that the number of house officers hospitals can train depends on available facilities, consultants and specialists, not arbitrary quotas.
“Housemanship is hands-on training before doctors proceed for NYSC. The number we can take depends on our training capacity, facilities and specialist availability,” he explained.
He added that better alignment between state governments, private hospitals and the central housemanship allocation system could ease pressure on federal institutions and expand training opportunities nationwide.
Addressing recent public concerns over snakebite emergencies, following a widely publicised fatal incident, Professor Ahmed clarified that FMC Abuja was fully equipped with anti-snake venom at the time of the incident.
He extended condolences to the family of the deceased and explained that the snake involved was a cobra, one of the most venomous species, where rapid medical intervention is critical.
“The patient arrived more than two hours after the bite, by which time the venom had already spread systemically,” he said. “Contrary to reports on social media, we had anti-snake venom in stock. Two doses were administered promptly.”
He noted that anti-venom is most effective when administered within 10 to 15 minutes of a bite, stressing that the delayed presentation significantly reduced its effectiveness despite full adherence to emergency protocols.
“For FMC Abuja, emergency services were fully functional, staff were on ground and the patient was attended to promptly on arrival,” he said.
Professor Ahmed urged the public to seek immediate medical attention in emergency cases, particularly snakebites, warning that delays can be fatal.
As budget deliberations continue at the National Assembly, he painted a grim picture of federal hospitals battling rising operational costs, shrinking manpower, public misinformation and time-critical emergencies.
His message to lawmakers was clear: without urgent structural reforms, stable funding and effective workforce retention strategies, even well-equipped hospitals may struggle to save lives when it matters most.
