ReportsNG
An investigation has uncovered that ₦139,830,000.00 in contract spending at the hospital passed through its books without the competitive bidding, tender evaluation, and approval steps that Nigerian law demands. The finding, contained in a Federal Government review of the hospital’s 2022 and 2023 financial years, points to a period when the hospital was led by its then Chief Medical Director, Prof. Yusuf .M. Abdullahi whose tenure covered the years in question.
That single finding is not just about paperwork. It combines two failures: the deliberate bypassing of procurement due process and serious gaps in how the contracts were actually carried out. In plain terms, ₦139.83 million was spent without the safeguards meant to ensure that public money buys the best value, the right quality, and work that is truly delivered.
The hospital’s leadership during those two years bears direct responsibility for creating the environment in which this happened. That responsibility does not disappear with a change of office. It follows the institution, and it now rests with whoever currently occupies the Chief Medical Director’s seat, who must answer for the file inherited from the previous administration.
The law on this is not ambiguous. The Public Procurement Act of 2007 requires open competitive bidding and documented due process for every public contract above the statutory threshold. According to the review, this ₦139.83 million finding fails that standard outright.
For patients, the stakes could not be higher. A hospital that cuts corners on procurement for contracts worth nearly ₦140 million risks extending the same corner-cutting to the equipment, supplies, and infrastructure that patients depend on. Every naira spent without proper competitive vetting is a naira that may never have secured the best value, quality, or reliability available.
