…Lawmakers Allege Donor Funds May Have Been Diverted To Terrorism
…Health Ministry, Partners Ordered To Submit Full Spending Details
…EFCC, ICPC To Track Every Kobo Spent On Disease Contro
Daud Olatunji
The House of Representatives has launched a sweeping investigation into the alleged mismanagement of over $4.6 billion in donor funds earmarked for Nigeria’s fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, amid fears that portions of the funds may have been diverted for terrorist financing.
The probe, spearheaded by the House Committee on Infectious Diseases, covers about $1.8 billion from the Global Fund and $2.8 billion from USAID disbursed between 2021 and 2025 for disease control and health system strengthening.
Committee Chairman, Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah, said the House would no longer allow Nigeria to remain a “mere spectator” in the management of international health grants, insisting that all donor funds must now be subject to parliamentary oversight.
“Any grant given without us controlling it is unacceptable. If they won’t give it on our terms, let them keep their money,” Ogah declared during the high-stakes hearing in Abuja.
The probe, approved by the House on October 21, 2025, seeks to unravel how the huge inflows—representing about 90 per cent of Nigeria’s disease intervention funding—were utilized despite the continued high prevalence of preventable illnesses.
Ogah accused some implementing partners of operating without verifiable offices, warning that “the era of spending Nigeria’s money without oversight is over.”
He directed the Federal Ministry of Health and the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) to ensure all implementing agencies submit detailed spending plans for National Assembly vetting before any further disbursement.
In what he described as a reform-driven step, Ogah disclosed that the committee would propose amendments to the NACA Establishment Bill to expand the agency’s mandate, renaming it the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (NACATAM).
He further hinted at intelligence reports suggesting that parts of the grants may have been diverted to fund terrorism, pledging collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to trace every kobo spent.
“We are determined to ensure transparency, accountability, and protection of public health funds. Nigerians deserve to know where their health money is going,” Ogah emphasized.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, threw his weight behind the probe, stressing that Nigeria must begin a phased exit from donor dependency and take full responsibility for its public health financing.
“After more than two decades of donor support, Nigeria must begin to fund its own health priorities,” Pate said, lamenting that the country still falls short of the 15 per cent budgetary allocation to health promised under the Abuja Declaration.
Declaring the hearing open, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas—represented by Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka—assured Nigerians that the House would produce an evidence-based report to strengthen governance and ensure proper utilization of health funds.
Ogah clarified that the probe was not a witch-hunt but a democratic accountability process, aimed at protecting public interest and ensuring that no Nigerian child dies before age five from preventable diseases.
“Our goal is simple — transparency, accountability, and the elimination of these diseases by 2030,” he said.
The committee is expected to summon major stakeholders and implementing partners as the investigation continues in the coming weeks.
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