The House of Representatives, during Wednesday’s plenary session in Abuja, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the healthcare sector of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This demand followed a motion moved by Rep. Nnamdi Ezechi (PDP-Delta), who expressed deep concern over the worsening condition of public healthcare in the nation’s capital. In the motion, Ezechi described a healthcare system stretched to its limits.
Government-owned hospitals are overwhelmed, leaving patients stranded due to a critical lack of bed spaces and inadequate staffing. He pointed out that while the FCT’s population has increased sharply over the past twenty years, most public hospitals have remained stagnant, with no expansion or upgrades to meet the growing demand for healthcare.
He warned that this mismatch has created long queues for urgent care and resulted in the avoidable deaths of patients. Ezechi stressed the need for immediate action, noting that the existing facilities cannot handle the pressure, and that the shortage of healthcare workers is compounding the problem.
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He stated: “Concerned that the lack of sufficient medical personnel, including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers, further exacerbates the crisis, reducing the quality of care and increasing the burden on the few available staff; Worried that if immediate interventions are not made, the healthcare crisis may escalate to unmanageable levels, undermining the right to health and threatening the well-being of residents in the nation’s capital; Convinced that a strategic review and upgrade of health infrastructure in the FCT, along with a comprehensive recruitment drive for medical professionals, will address the urgent needs and ensure better health outcomes.”
The House echoed his concerns and called for the release of emergency funds to revamp hospitals, recruit medical personnel, and provide essential medical equipment.
The urgency, they warned, could no longer be ignored.