Abuja, Sept. 10, 2025 (NAN) The Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr Jobson Ewalefoh, has stressed the importance of leveraging Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models to deliver reliable power infrastructure in Nigeria’s health sector.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at the first National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector, Ewalefoh said PPPs could transform healthcare service delivery by improving power availability and safeguarding patient outcomes.
He added that such partnerships would also help reduce reliance on diesel, cut operational costs, and provide a more sustainable and resilient power infrastructure for health facilities across the country.
He noted that Nigeria’s power sector alone accounted for 759 billion dollars of the country’s projected 2.3 trillion dollars infrastructure investment deficit from 2020 to 2043, highlighting the need for private sector participation.
He called for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministries of Power and Health to make power a central focus in all health infrastructure projects, warning that “the first thing that fails is power.”
During a panel session, Mr Joseph Tegbe of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership urged the government to provide clear policies and investment guarantees to attract and retain investors in the health power sector.
Dr Adedolapo Fasawe of the FCT Health Services Secretariat, on the other hand, advocated involving host communities in power generation and distribution for hospitals to enhance sustainability and support local revenue generation.
Other speakers, including Dr Kayode Adesola of ANPMP, highlighted the challenges faced by private hospitals, stressing the need for stakeholder collaboration and the use of diversified energy sources to ensure consistent power supply.
Dr Lola Alli of Alpine Care Group added that sustainable financing models, such as carbon credits and impact-driven investments, are essential to power Nigeria’s health facilities efficiently and avoid working in silos. (NAN)
