The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have inaugurated a Joint Task Team to strengthen accountability, prevent corruption and protect public investments in Nigeria’s health sector.
The initiative, inaugurated in Abuja on Monday by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, and the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, is aimed at identifying institutional vulnerabilities, closing loopholes and preventing the diversion or misuse of health-sector resources.
Speaking at the event, Pate said every naira invested in healthcare must deliver tangible value to Nigerians, stressing that corruption in the sector could have life-threatening consequences.
“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 Minister said the Federal Government would not tolerate corruption in the health sector, adding that effective governance must focus not only on responding to wrongdoing but also on preventing it by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities within institutions.
He described the Joint Task Team as “an instrument for institutional change”, saying its mandate would focus on prevention, institutional strengthening and improved oversight.
Pate disclosed that the government had already 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.
He added that verified National Identification Numbers were being used to authenticate beneficiaries and reduce duplication, while digital processes were being strengthened to improve transparency and traceability from allocation to utilisation.
According to him, the accountability measures would cover all areas of the health sector, including financing, procurement, infrastructure, medicines and service delivery.
Pate said 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,” the Minister said.
He charged members of the Joint Task Team to work with professionalism, independence, courage and diligence, urging them to recommend practical safeguards capable of producing lasting institutional reforms.
The ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, who was represented by the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Clifford Oparaodu, said the establishment of the task team gave practical expression to the Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions.
He said the MoU provided a framework for collaboration and preventive oversight in the management of health-sector resources, particularly the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.
Aliyu stressed that funds allocated for primary healthcare must reach the intended facilities and beneficiaries and be utilised transparently, efficiently and in accordance with due process.
He said the ICPC’s preventive mandate was focused on identifying weaknesses in government processes and eliminating opportunities for corrupt practices.
“It is a cheaper, less intrusive but more enduring or sustainable way of fighting corruption,” he said.
The ICPC chairman noted that corruption in the health sector should not be measured only by financial losses or accounting irregularities, but also by its impact on maternal and infant mortality, immunisation rates, preventable diseases and access to affordable healthcare.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom S. mni, said effective stewardship of health resources was fundamental to achieving better health outcomes.
She said the Joint Task Team would be embedded within the Ministry’s existing structures and would assess the utilisation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund following each quarterly disbursement.
Kachollom disclosed that the MoU would run for two years, subject to renewal, while the task team would be co-chaired by the Director of Hospital Services, representing the Ministry, and a Director of the ICPC.
The co-chairmen of the task team, Dr. Abisola Adegoke, Director of Hospital Services, and Mr. Shehu Gambo, Assistant Director, Financial Investigation, ICPC, pledged to discharge their responsibilities diligently and transparently.
The inauguration mark a strengthened institutional partnership between the Ministry and the ICPC aimed at ensuring that health investments translate into measurable improvements in healthcare delivery for Nigerians.
