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Nigeria loses $2bn annually to medical tourism — FG

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The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, has revealed that Nigeria loses approximately $2 billion annually to medical tourism. He emphasised the urgent need for the country to build health sovereignty and reduce reliance on foreign medical care.

Represented by the Chief Medical Director of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Professor Wasiu Adeyemo, Pate made the statement during the commissioning of Avon Medical Centre, a newly established 50-bed speciality hospital in Surulere, Lagos.

He attributed the staggering loss to a lack of public confidence in the local healthcare system and limited access to quality medical services. Despite this, Pate expressed optimism that facilities like Avon Medical Centre could help reverse the trend.

He noted that the government is committed to revitalising the health sector through initiatives such as the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and the 2024–2027 Health Sector Strategic Blueprint.

 “This is not just about stopping medical tourism. It is about building health sovereignty—the ability of a country to care for its people, and to develop its institutions, talent, and innovation,” Pate stated.

“The government is ready to co-create pathways for private-sector engagement, whether through health insurance expansion, regulatory reform, or partnerships with national health programmes. We welcome Avon Medical and all new private providers as partners in building a healthier, safer, and more equitable Nigeria.”
Also speaking at the event, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu called for stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors, stressing that the government alone cannot address the challenges in healthcare delivery.

“We must create an enabling environment for private equity and investment to thrive,” he said. “Avon Medical has etched its name in the sands of time in this industry—not only in Lagos but across Nigeria.”

In her remarks, Chairperson of Avon Healthcare Limited, Awele Elumelu, highlighted the pressures on Nigeria’s healthcare system caused by a shortage of doctors, hospital beds, and essential equipment.

“In 2009, we took the bold step to make world-class healthcare accessible and affordable for all—not just the privileged few. That decision birthed Avon Medical and Avon HMO,” she said. “Africa carries over 20 percent of the global disease burden, yet has only one percent of healthcare resources

“What we are building is a healthcare system that leaves no one behind. We believe in Afri-capitalism—the idea that the private sector has a responsibility not just to generate profit but to create lasting impact.”

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I’ll never go to Arise TV until he’s removed – Igbokwe on clash between Minister Umahi, Rufai

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A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Joe Igbokwe has vowed to steer clear of Arise Television until one of the TV’s presenters and show host, Rufai Oseni, is sacked.

Igbokwe’s remark followed a drama that ensued between the Minister of Works, David Umahi and Rufai during an interview on The Morning Show on Monday.

According to a trending video, the minister, who was furious over some questions that were put out to him by Rufai regarding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, asked the show host to keep quiet.

Umahi claimed he is a professor in the field of engineering and has vast knowledge regarding the federal government projects.

But Rufai became inquisitive and demanded to know the year the minister became a professor.

Reacting to the drama, Igbokwe in a Facebook post, said until Rufai is sacked, he will not appear on the TV station, stating that the station has “become a TV Station of anything goes.

“I will never go there again until Rufai Oseni is removed.

“The Animal Science graduate is making a mockery of Journalism. Televion Station is not a place for mediocres and noise makers”, the APC chieftain posted.

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Alleged Christian genocide: US Rep asks Trump to tag Nigeria ‘Country of Particular Concern’

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A lawmaker representing West Virginia’s Second District in the United States House of Congress, Rep Riley M. Moore, has written to President Donald Trump, asking the US government to immediately designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concerns, CPC.

The letter dated October 6, 2025, and addressed to Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, US Department of State in Washington DC, was sighted by Ekwutosblog on Tuesday.

In the letter, the lawmaker urged the US government to immediately halt sales of arms and all associated technical support to Nigeria until the “Nigerian government demonstrates that it is sufficiently committed to ending the reign of persecution and slaughter”.

Moore claimed that from January to September 2025 alone, no fewer than 7,000 Christians have been gruesomely murdered by “Muslim extremist groups”.

He alleged that at least 250 Catholic Priests have been attacked or killed across the country since 2015, stressing that “between Boko Haram uprising in 2009 and 2025, 19,100 churches in Nigeria have been attacked or destroyed”.

Ekwutosblog reports that President Trump had during his first tenure designated Nigeria as a CPC but his successor, former President Joe Biden reversed the designation.

 

US Senator Ted Cruz, television host Bill Maher, and political commentator Van Jones had also alleged that Nigeria is witnessing a “Christian genocide”.

During a recent podcast appearance with American talk show host Bill Maher, Senator Cruz alleged that Christians were being systematically targeted and killed in Nigeria, describing the situation as “genocide”.

But the Federal Government had since dismissed the report, stating that the deteriorating security situation in the country does not target a particular religion.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, in a recent statement, described the allegations as false, misleading and capable of inciting division.

According to him, the foreign commentators were “orchestrating wild allegations about unproven ongoing genocide” in Nigeria and urged Nigerians and the international community to reject attempts to “robe the country with a garment that is not hers”.

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Subject: A cashier at a Kingsway store.

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Location: Lagos, Nigeria.
Date: Circa January 1962.

Photographer/Source: Pix/Michael Ochs Archives.
Significance: The image captures the era of Kingsway Stores, which symbolized modern and cosmopolitan life in West Africa in the early 1960s.
About Kingsway Stores

Origins: The chain began as Lever’s Stores in 1922, evolving through Opobo Stores Ltd before becoming Kingsway Stores Ltd in 1947.

Expansion: The first store in Nigeria opened in Lagos in 1948, followed by others in cities like Freetown, Accra, Ibadan, and Port Harcourt.

Impact: Kingsway Stores represented a modern, western-style shopping experience, with departments for various goods, and were a popular shopping destination for Nigerians.

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