In a bold legislative move aimed at revitalising Nigeria’s public education and healthcare sectors, the House of Representatives has introduced a bill that seeks to prohibit public and civil servants from using private schools and medical facilities.
Titled “A Bill for an Act to Prohibit Public and Civil Servants from Patronising Private Schools and Health Care Services and for Related Matters (HB 2487),” the proposed legislation was presented on Tuesday by Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah.
Speaking with journalists at the National Assembly, Ogah explained that the bill is intended to compel public officials and their immediate families to use only government-run schools and hospitals. According to him, this approach is necessary to rebuild public trust and compel government investment in the nation’s deteriorating public institutions.
“This bill aims to eliminate conflict of interest, ensure accountability, and inspire confidence in our public systems by making it compulsory for public and civil servants to use public schools and healthcare services,” Ogah said.
He blamed the decline of Nigeria’s education and health infrastructure on the persistent neglect by government officials, who increasingly rely on private and foreign institutions. Ogah cited the examples of Nigeria’s founding fathers — Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and Sir Tafawa Balewa — who were all products of public schools.
Highlighting the scale of capital flight due to medical and educational tourism, Ogah revealed that Nigerians spent over $29.29 billion on foreign medical treatment during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. In 2023 alone, at least $218.87 million was spent on overseas education. Meanwhile, the government’s 2024 healthcare allocation stood at N1.336 trillion, far below the estimated N1.6 trillion spent annually on treatment abroad.
“If we are serious about reform — just as we began with the removal of petroleum subsidy — we must take this step to end the patronage of private institutions by those tasked with managing the public ones,” he asserted.
Ogah added that the proposed law would halt the trend of top officials abandoning local institutions, thereby paving the way for long-overdue improvements in infrastructure and service delivery. He also suggested that public confidence could be restored only when leaders subject themselves to the same standards as the citizens they serve.
He called on the media and Nigerians at large to support the bill, describing it as a patriotic initiative aimed at triggering meaningful reforms and fostering a culture of accountability within the civil service.
The bill is currently awaiting deliberation in the House.
