![The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate. [PHOTO CREDIT: Official X handle of Mr Pate | via https://x.com/muhammadpate/status/1812790729107816486/photo/1]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2024/10/Muhammad-Ali-Pate.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1)
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has signed a multi-year agreement with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to strengthen accountability in the federal government’s ongoing overhaul of primary healthcare infrastructure.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, announced the partnership in a post on X on Sunday.
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Mr Pate explained that the agreement is aimed at ensuring transparent monitoring, tracking, and auditing of all expenditures related to the nationwide upgrade of health facilities.
Transparent infrastructure reforms
Mr Pate said the federal government is currently undertaking an extensive rehabilitation and upgrade of primary healthcare centres across all 774 local government areas.
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The project, he noted, is part of broader health-sector reforms designed to improve service delivery and guarantee that public resources are utilised efficiently.
As part of the new collaboration, the ICPC will provide real-time, stage-by-stage reporting on the progress of revitalisation projects overseen by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
Mr Pate added that the commission’s independent verification will serve as a required step before certifying any project as fully completed.
“The ministry and its parastatals have entered into a multi-year pact with the ICPC to monitor, track, and audit all expenditures involved in the nationwide overhaul of health infrastructure across every local government area,” he said.
To reinforce these reforms at the local level, Mr Pate said the ministry has also deployed hundreds of Performance and Financial Management Officers (PFMOs) across the country.
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These officers, he said, will provide continuous assessments of rehabilitation work and the operational performance of primary health centres.
He added that this effort aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s recent commissioning of the National Health Fellows, 774 young professionals, one from each local government area, selected through a rigorous process and trained to support the new anti-corruption and accountability framework being implemented across the sector.
According to Mr Pate, the combined oversight roles of the ICPC, the PFMOs, and the National Health Fellows signal a renewed national commitment to transparency and integrity in health financing.
“This is our time to reclaim the nation we love, to reject what has held us back, and to affirm a new social contract grounded in integrity, renewed trust, and renewed hope,” he said.
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