By Tony Obiechina

At the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority NSIA), the mandate to deploy patient capital is anchored in a clear objective: to invest in sectors capable of delivering both long-term commercial returns and measurable national impact.

NSIA’s entry into healthcare was therefore guided by a straightforward but ambitious proposition: that high-quality healthcare services—many of which were previously inaccessible in Nigeria or available primarily through overseas treatment—could be made more accessible and affordable within the country.

This ambition led to the establishment of NSIA Advanced Medical Services Limited (“MedServe”), the Authority’s wholly owned healthcare subsidiary, with a strategic focus on advancing oncology, diagnostics and, subsequently, other specialised medical services across Nigeria.

Building on this foundation, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at NSIA  has placed healthcare investment within a broader institutional framework—one that goes beyond the development of individual facilities to building sustainable healthcare capacity, strengthening local expertise, and creating platforms capable of delivering measurable outcomes over the long term.

Through MedServe, NSIA has translated this strategic vision into operational healthcare infrastructure with national significance.

The MedServe–LUTH Cancer Centre (MLCC) in Lagos, commissioned in May 2019, became the first oncology centre in Nigeria to offer 3D Conformal Radiotherapy and today houses the largest concentration of radiotherapy equipment in West Africa.

The centre’s strategic value became particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when international travel restrictions significantly constrained access to overseas medical treatment. At a critical moment for patients requiring specialised care, MLCC provided continuity of advanced cancer treatment within Nigeria, demonstrating the importance of resilient domestic healthcare capacity.

This investment has been complemented by the MedServe Kano Diagnostic Centre (MKDC) and the MedServe Umuahia Diagnostic Centre (MUDC), which introduced advanced radiology and pathology services to regions where such capabilities had previously been limited or unavailable.

The results are both substantial and measurable. Since inception, MLCC has delivered more than 25,000 radiotherapy sessions and 10,000 chemotherapy treatments to approximately 15,000 unique patients. The centre has also recorded instances of reversed medical tourism, with Nigerians being referred from overseas providers on account of the quality and cost-effectiveness of services available locally.

Treatment costs remain significantly below comparable international services, in many cases at less than half the cost of treatment abroad. It is estimated that these interventions have prevented more than US$200 million in foreign exchange outflows that would otherwise have been associated with overseas treatment and related expenses.

Across Kano and Umuahia, more than 410,000 patients had received pathology and radio diagnostic services by December 2025, supporting earlier detection, contributing to improved clinical decision-making and patient outcomes.

These figures represent more than service volumes. They demonstrate healthcare capacity built locally, specialised skills retained within the country, and tangible value delivered to Nigerians.

Building a Sustainable Oncology Ecosystem

Sustainable healthcare transformation requires more than physical infrastructure. It depends on an ecosystem in which infrastructure is supported by human capital development, clinical research, knowledge transfer and integration with leading international institutions.

Recognising that oncology remains an emerging specialty in Nigeria, NSIA, through MedServe, adopted a holistic approach centred on three priorities: developing a pipeline of skilled oncology professionals; strengthening clinical research and trial capacity tailored to African populations; and establishing partnerships with leading global medical institutions.

As part of this effort, MedServe instituted an annual Oncology Summit to bring together clinicians, researchers, regulators and academics, creating a platform for knowledge exchange, professional development and collaboration.

MedServe has also established partnerships with globally respected institutions, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the University of Maryland Medical Center and Bio Ventures for Global Health. These collaborations are helping expand access to clinical trials and innovative approaches in oncology, radiology and pathology.

To date, MedServe has participated in two global cancer trials focused on prostate and breast cancer—an important step towards strengthening Nigeria’s role in international clinical research and ensuring that evidence generated through global healthcare innovation is increasingly relevant to African populations.

This ecosystem-led approach reflects the broader investment philosophy championed under Aminu Umar-Sadiq’s leadership: that sustainable impact is achieved not simply by deploying capital into assets, but by creating the institutional, technical and human-capital foundations required for those assets to deliver value over generations.

Expanding National Access: The Next Phase

Building on the outcomes achieved to date, MedServe has embarked on a structured expansion of its healthcare footprint across 13 states.

The expansion is designed to balance established urban centres—including Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and Kaduna—with other participating states such as Oyo, Sokoto, Delta and Yobe. The objective is to bring specialised diagnostic and treatment capabilities closer to more Nigerians while creating a more geographically diversified healthcare network.

The next phase comprises the development of 13 new diagnostic centres, three additional oncology centres and three cardiac catheterisation laboratories, introducing cardiology as a new service line within the MedServe platform.

Scale, however, must be accompanied by operational resilience. To this end, MedServe has established long-term partnerships with global equipment manufacturers Siemens and GE. These partnerships cover equipment supply, maintenance, training and bulk procurement efficiencies, supporting high service uptime, consistent quality and the long-term sustainability of the expanding network.

The financing structure supporting this expansion is equally significant. In line with NSIA’s mandate to mobilise capital and catalyse foreign investment, MedServe secured up to US$24.3 million in blended financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International Development Association (IDA).

The financing represents an innovative approach to healthcare investment, helping to lower the cost of capital while supporting affordability and demonstrating growing multilateral confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare sector.

With the commissioning of new centres scheduled to commence from mid-2026, NSIA, through MedServe, remains focused on expanding equitable access to high-quality healthcare services across Nigeria.

The country’s healthcare narrative must continue to evolve. It should no longer be defined predominantly by outbound medical tourism, but increasingly by domestic resilience, expanding capacity and measurable national capability.

The ambition is not simply to build more healthcare facilities. It is to demonstrate that world-class, dignified and accessible healthcare can be developed, operated and sustained in Nigeria.

The journey remains ongoing, but the direction is clear. Through disciplined capital deployment, strategic partnerships, long-term institutional commitment and strong execution, NSIA will continue to support the development of healthcare infrastructure capable of serving both the current and future generations of Nigerians.

For NSIA, the measure of success ultimately extends beyond the infrastructure delivered. It lies in the capacity created, the patients served, the expertise retained, the investment attracted and the extent to which Nigeria’s healthcare system becomes stronger, more resilient and increasingly capable of meeting the needs of its people at home.

By Rotimi Ijikanmi

For four days, the road into Benue became a moving test of perception, with a presidential media team traversing routes once feared for attacks, without incident.

The Renewed Hope Ambassadors Presidential Media Team, led by Mr Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, embarked on the journey on Aug.

The mission was to inspect Federal Government and state infrastructure projects across Nasarawa and Benue states, but the journey also offered an opportunity to test prevailing narratives about insecurity.

The journey also unfolded against sustained Federal Government efforts under President Bola Tinubu to strengthen security nationwide through expanded deployments, intelligence, recruitment and inter-agency coordination.

The team travelled from Abuja to Makurdi, then ventured into interior communities and remote locations where reports of attacks by bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements had previously generated concerns.

No fewer than 40 senior editors,, social media handlers,  cameramen, photographers and other support staff members from the Presidential Villa joined the journey, making the convoy a sizeable travelling media contingent.

Among the officials were Mr Tunde Rahman, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Special Duties; Mr Tope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Director in the Villa Media Unit, Mr Abiodun Oladunjoye.

Others included Mr Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, Senior Special Assistant on Print Media; Mr Otega Ogra, Senior Special Assistant on Digital Media; and Ms Linda Akhigbe, Senior Special Assistant on Strategic Communication.

The first leg of the journey provided an immediate indication of changing conditions along the Abuja-Makurdi corridor, where improved road infrastructure has transformed travel on sections once associated with delays and hazards.

The reconstructed highway now offers wider lanes, improved shoulders, safer overtaking opportunities and better traffic flow, reducing motorists’ exposure to isolated bottlenecks and prolonged stops.

The road, a major gateway linking the Federal Capital Territory with Benue and the South-East, carries passengers, agricultural produce, fuel, livestock and other goods across the region.

The journey continued beyond Makurdi to Taraku Mill in Gwer East Local Government Area, Otobi Water Works and Treatment Plant, Benue Brewery and other infrastructure sites.

These locations, some situated away from major urban centres, offered another opportunity to assess the security situation beyond the main highways.

The team also inspected the ongoing 258-kilometre Makurdi-Otukpo-Enugu highway and travelled through the Aliade-Oju axis, areas where insecurity had previously affected movement and economic activities.

At Buruku, the team visited the ongoing bridge project across the Katsina-Ala River, a location historically associated with dangerous river crossings and significant loss of lives.

Mr Raymond Aondoakura, Chairman of Buruku Local Government, said almost 200 people had reportedly died in boat mishaps on the river within three years.

The ongoing bridge, therefore, represents more than infrastructure.

It is expected to eliminate a dangerous crossing, improve movement and connect communities previously constrained by geography and inadequate transportation links.

For the presidential media team, however, the significance of the journey extended beyond the projects inspected.

It provided an opportunity to experience directly a security environment often portrayed as uniformly dangerous across Benue and other parts of the North Central.

For four days, the team travelled through several locations without an attack or security incident, an experience that appeared to contrast with perceptions of pervasive insecurity.

The experience does not mean security challenges have disappeared from Benue, but it suggests that the situation may be more nuanced than broad descriptions of the state as entirely unsafe.

Across the North-West, the Tinubu’s administration has sustained Operation Fansan Yamma and intensified joint operations against bandit camps and kidnapping networks in Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi and neighbouring states.

Gov. Hyacinth Alia has also pointed to improving security as evidence of changing conditions, particularly the gradual return of displaced residents to their ancestral communities.

During a media chat with the team, Alia disclosed plans to close some Internally Displaced Persons’ camps because occupants had voluntarily returned to their homes in order to farm.

The governor said 15 IDP camps had been established following attacks and displacement, but improved security was enabling many residents to return and rebuild their livelihoods.

He said security agencies, traditional institutions and residents were monitoring developments across the state, while the government continued working with international organisations to achieve durable returns.

The changing security picture is also reflected in renewed economic activity, as government revives abandoned industries and improves roads connecting farms, markets and production centres.

At Taraku, the government is reviving a N70 billion mill that had remained moribund for about 40 years, with the facility expected to process soybean, maize and animal feed.

The mill’s General Manager, Mr Terngwu Kyuve, said the facility could create no fewer than 2,000 direct and indirect jobs when fully operational.

Such investments require security because factories cannot thrive where workers, investors, farmers and transporters fear travelling to production locations.

Similarly, improved roads are helping farmers move produce faster, reducing journey times and limiting the prolonged exposure to isolated stretches that can heighten vulnerability.

The evidence from the road journey, therefore, points to a gradual change rather than a complete victory over insecurity.

Benue still faces security challenges, but improved roads, increased movement, government intervention and returning residents suggest that the state’s security narrative is evolving.

For the presidential media team, the four-day journey became an unconventional field test and evidence that the state is moving beyond its troubled past.

The experience also underscored the connection between security and development.

Roads, bridges, industries and economic opportunities can strengthen communities while reducing isolation that often creates vulnerabilities.

As the convoy returned after traversing highways, bridges, industrial sites and interior communities without incident, one conclusion stood out: Benue’s security story may no longer be as bleak as commonly portrayed.(NAN)

By Tambaya Julius, Abuja

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has graduated 50 officers from the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College (NCCSC), Gwagwalada, with two officers from the Service’s National Public Relations Unit emerging as the Overall Best and Second Best Graduating Students in Senior Course 14/2026.

A major highlight of the graduation ceremony, held at the Ahmed Makarfi Hall of the College on Friday, 26 June 2026, was the emergence of Chief Superintendent of Customs Ridwan Yusuf as the Overall Best Graduating Student and Chief Superintendent of Customs Nuruddeen Sa’idu as the Second Best Graduating Student.

In his message to the graduating officers, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the Commander, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs Sulaiman Chiroma, congratulated them on completing one of the Service’s most demanding professional training programmes.

DCG Chiroma charged the officers to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, discipline and courage, saying, “To whom much is given, much is expected. On behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, I urge you to remain mission-focused and continue to serve the nation with honesty, integrity and dedication.”

Earlier, the Commandant of the College, Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs Duwoh Gaura, reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to producing competent officers in line with the Comptroller-General’s vision of a more efficient, technology-driven and professional NCS.

The graduation marked another milestone in the Service’s commitment to developing highly skilled officers capable of meeting the evolving demands of Customs administration and border management.

The College had earlier, on Wednesday, 24 June 2026, held a Regimental Dinner at the NCCSC Hotel, Gwagwalada, in honour of the graduating officers. The event was attended by members of the Service’s Management Team, senior officers and guests. It was graced by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by DCG Sulaiman Chiroma.