Economy
FG to pursue National Health Insurance scheme for healthcare funding—Osinbajo
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that it is important that Nigeria take seriously, the National Health Insurance Scheme. Speaking at a policy dialogue He said “For us as a government, it is an important policy initiative and we intend to implement it. I am pleased to see that several States are already implementing State Health Insurance Schemes.” But the National Health Insurance Scheme is a very important one in order to be able to provide the funding that our healthcare services desperately need.” On this note, I’m pleased to say that the numerous initiatives being implemented will help Nigeria meet the goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by the year 2030.
According to him “One of these initiatives is the “Saving One Million Lives Program for Results (SOML PforR)”, which provides incentives based on achievement of results (health outcomes), while helping to drive the institutional processes needed to achieve them. These incentives, which are Federal Government bulk grants to States based on performance, enable us to reward improvements in health outcomes achieved, rather than a focus on inputs or activities. For decision makers like us and many other, the use of measurable indicators to track success, strong accountability mechanisms put in place and the alignment with the private sector to spur innovation in health care delivery, make this particular program worthwhile and result-oriented”.
He further said “I’m aware the program receives the highest possible political attention at the State level, evidenced by the charge from State Governors to Health Commissioners, to focus on data in their respective States and conduct bottleneck analysis, and develop plans that will improve indices in their respective States. This policy dialogue presents a platform for the best performing States to be rewarded. It is worthy of note that the Programme does not recognize political affiliation in line with its implementation policy, rather it provides equal opportunity for all the States. Otherwise, you would have seen today that the best performing States would only have been APC States. Let me say to my colleagues in the PDP States, they see how fair-minded and even-handed we have been.
“To Nigerians, SOML-PforR means that the Primary Healthcare Clinics or Centres near them will be functional, that they will receive quality healthcare when they visit these centres, that the staff will be adequately trained and better motivated and thus be more competent, courteous and effective, that their children will no longer suffer and/or die from vaccine preventable diseases, that they will have less episodes of malaria and will be better treated if they do get malaria, that mothers will be able to determine how many children they want to have, space out these births as they want, and will no longer die during child birth from simple complications. Given that SOML-PforR publishes results on all the selected indicators, we have begun to see a change in the social contract between citizens and elected officers at the State level, as more people are increasingly holding them responsible for poor performance.
“I’ll encourage every State to make good use of the SOML-PforR resources. Under the program, States that fail to make judicious use of the funds will miss out on future disbursements, but beyond that, good financial practices and efficient utilization of resources will improve living standards of large numbers of our people, and move us closer to our goals of achieving Universal Health Coverage. As I draw to a close, let me use this opportunity to inform participants present, as part of the numerous health initiatives at the Federal level, and in line with Mr. President’s agenda, that we will commence the implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). As you all know, funds have been included in the 2018 budget for the implementation of the Basic Health Care programme. It is a key deliverable of our administration, as we recognise the importance of human capital in spurring economic growth and development. With the Basic Health Care Fund, we aim to provide a transparent and efficient structure for the inter-fiscal transfer of resources, through implementing agencies to the service delivery points which are the Primary Health Care Facilities.
“These funds will be used in purchasing an explicit, but guaranteed package of high impact maternal and child health services, while improving the quality of healthcare delivered at the facilities. We do not envision that funds will be kept in any account, but rather disbursed swiftly to provide the much needed services to the rural poor. Every beneficiary will receive an identification card, with a unique code to enable us accurately determine the number of people benefitting from the program. I am personally excited about the possibilities of the Basic Health Care Fund and I will encourage all our partners to contribute to the fund. Your Excellencies, our health care policies are aligned with all of our human development initiatives. So our Social Investment Programme also feeds into our overall health care policy. For example today, the Federal government provides one meal every day to over 8.2 million primary school children in public schools in 24 States so far.
“One of the key objectives of the School Feeding Programme is to address malnutrition, which as you know, leads to both physical and mental stunting of young children. Part of the School Feeding Programme is a deworming programme, where we ensure that children are periodically dewormed. Also, our cash transfer programme of 5000 a month to the poorest, also has a clear healthcare component. In developing the social register from which these payments are made, (the template for the social register was developed for us by the World Bank), we take into account the number of members of the household who are in school and children who have been immunized, with a view to encouraging school attendance, school enrolment, as well as immunization. Generally speaking, our focus on lifting millions out of poverty feeds into the objective of reducing poverty induced health outcomes. This year for the first time and pursuant to the National Health Act, we are providing in our budget, the statutory one percent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund. But budget funding alone will never be sufficient to provide the types of healthcare that we want for our people, and neither will it truly deliver the health outcomes that we desire.
It is important that we must bear in mind that budgeting no matter how much it is, will not be enough, because we simply do not have the resources. This is why it is important that we take seriously, the National Health Insurance Scheme. For us as a government, it is an important policy initiative and we intend to implement it. I am pleased to see that several States are already implementing State Health Insurance Schemes. But the National Health Insurance Scheme is a very important one in order to be able to provide the funding that our healthcare services desperately need.
The Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program and the Federal Republic of Nigeria formalized a partnership with the signing of the AATB Membership Agreement, officially welcoming Nigeria as the Program’s newest member country. The signing ceremony took place in Abuja on the sidelines of the 5th AATB Board of Governors Meeting, hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Membership Agreement was signed by Eng. Adeeb Y. Al Aama, the CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and AATB Program Secretary General, and H.E. Mr. Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Agreement will provide a strategic and operational framework to support Nigeria’s efforts in trade competitiveness, promote export diversification, strengthen priority value chains, and advance capacity-building efforts in line with national development priorities. Areas of collaboration will include trade promotion, agribusiness modernization, SME development, businessmen missions, trade facilitation, logistics efficiency, and digital trade readiness.
The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, called for deeper trade collaboration between African and Arab nations, stressing the importance of value-added Agribusiness and industrial partnerships for regional growth. Speaking in Abuja at the Agribusiness Matchmaking Forum ahead of the AATB Board of Governors Meeting, the Minister said the shifting global economy makes it essential for African and Arab nations to rely more on regional cooperation, investment and shared markets.
He highlighted projections showing Arab-Africa trade could grow by more than US$37 billion in the next three years and urged partners to prioritize value addition rather than raw commodity exports. He noted that Nigeria’s growing industrial base and upcoming National Single Window reforms will support efficiency, investment and private-sector expansion.
“This is a moment to turn opportunity into action”, he said. “By working together, we can build stronger value chains, create jobs and support prosperity across our regions”, Edun emphasized. “As African and Arab nations embark on this journey of deeper trade collaboration, the potential for growth and development is vast. With a shared vision and commitment to value-added partnerships, we can unlock new opportunities, drive economic growth, and create a brighter future for our people.”
Speaking during the event, Eng. Adeeb Y. Al Aama, Chief Executive Officer of ITFC and Secretary General of the AATB Program, stated: “We are pleased to welcome Nigeria to be part of the AATB Program. Nigeria stands as one of Africa’s most dynamic and resilient economies in Africa, with a rapidly expanding private sector and strong potential across agribusiness, energy, manufacturing, and digital industries. Through this Membership Agreement, we look forward to collaborating closely with Nigerian institutions to strengthen value chains, expand regional market access, enhance trade finance and investment opportunities, and support the country’s development priorities.”
The signing of this Agreement underscores AATB’s continued engagement with African countries and its evolving portfolio of programs supporting trade and investment. In recent years, AATB has worked on initiatives across agribusiness, textiles, logistics, digital trade, export readiness under the AfCFTA framework, and other regional initiatives such as the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) Programme.
With Nigeria’s accession, the AATB Program extends it’s presence in the region and adds a key partner working toward advancing trade-led development and fostering inclusive economic growth.
Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), a key fiscal document that outlines Nigeria’s revenue expectations, macroeconomic assumptions, and spending priorities for the next three years. The approval followed Wednesday’s FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu made this known after the meeting.
The Minister said the Federal Government is projecting a total revenue inflow of N34.33 trillion in 2026, including N4.98 trillion expected from government-owned enterprises. Bagudu said that the projected revenue is N6.55 trillion lower than earlier estimates, adding that federal allocations are expected to drop by about N9.4 trillion, representing a 16% decline compared to the 2025 budget.
He said that statutory transfers are expected to amount to about N3 trillion within the same fiscal year. On macroeconomic assumptions, FEC adopted an oil production benchmark of 2.6 million barrels per day (mbpd) for 2026, although a more conservative 1.8 mbpd will be used for budgeting purposes. An oil price benchmark of $64 per barrel and an exchange rate of N1,512 per dollar were also approved.
Bagudu said the exchange rate assumption reflects projections tied to economic and political developments ahead of the 2027 general elections. He said the exchange rate assumption took into account the fiscal outlook ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The minister said that all the parameters were based on macroeconomic analysis by the Budget Office and other relevant agencies. Bagudu said FEC also reviewed comments from cabinet members before approving the Medium-Term Fiscal Expenditure Ceiling (MFTEC), which sets expenditure limits. Earlier, the Senate approved the external borrowing plan of $21.5 billion presented by President Tinubu for consideration The loans, according to the Senate, were part of the MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for the 2025 budget.
The spot rate on Nigerian Treasury bills has been increased by 146 basis points by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following tight subscription levels at the main auction on Wednesday. The spot rate on Treasury bills with one-year maturity has now surpassed Nigeria’s 16.05% inflation by 145 basis points following a recent decision to keep the policy rate at 27%.
The Apex Bank came to the primary market with N700 billion Treasury bills offer size across standard tenors, including 91-day, 182-day and 364 day maturities. Details from the auction results showed that demand settled slightly above the total offers as investors began to seek higher returns on naira assets despite disinflation.
Total subscription came in at about N775 billion versus N700 billion offers floated at the main auction. The results showed rising appetite for duration as investors parked about 90% of their bids on Nigerian Treasury bills with 364 days maturity. The CBN opened N100 billion worth of 91 days bills for subscription, but the offer received underwhelming bids totalling N44.17 billion.
The CBN allotted N42.80 billion for the short-term instrument at the spot rate of 15.30%, the same as the previous auction. Total demand for 182 days Nigerian Treasury bills settled at N33.38 billion as against N150 billion that the authority pushed out for subscription. The CBN raised N30.36 billion from 182 days bills allotted to investors at the spot rate of 15.50%, the same as the previous auction.
Investors staked N697.29 billion on N450 billion in 364-day Treasury bills that was offered for subscription. The CBN raised N636.46 billion from the longest tenor at the spot rate of 17.50%, up from 16.04% at the previous auction.
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