Prof. Michael Ogirima, Provost of the College of Health Sciences at the Federal University Lokoja, has urged the Federal Government to extend the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to teaching hospitals.
He made this appeal on Thursday while presenting the 32nd Inaugural Lecture of the institution in Lokoja, Kogi State.
Ogirima explained that teaching hospitals, which act as both medical service providers and training centres for university students, remain poorly equipped despite their dual importance.
He argued that, unlike universities that already benefit from TETFund, these hospitals continue to struggle with inadequate resources.
He suggested that medical education programmes in universities should receive between 30 and 40 per cent of the annual capital budget to ease the burden of high running costs.
The health scholar also called for the enforcement of existing health insurance and welfare policies to strengthen the system.
He recommended the establishment of specialised universities to reduce competition for funds within existing institutions.
Ogirima further appealed for the creation of orthopaedic hospitals, trauma centres, and rehabilitation services along busy routes to manage accident cases effectively.
He urged wealthy Nigerians to support medical training by setting up private medical schools, citing philanthropist and educationist Pa Afe Babalola as a model.
Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Lokoja, backed Ogirima’s position during the lecture.
He described the call as timely, given the current challenges facing Nigeria’s health sector.
He pointed out that the nation continues to struggle with poor infrastructure, brain drain, and limited resources.
He warned that a country that fails to invest in its doctors, scientists, and scholars risks endangering its own future.