From a distance, the OAU Primary Health Centre in Ojoku, Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State, appeared newly constructed when PREMIUM TIMES returned to the power on 6 May 2026.
Its blue-and-white exterior had been painted, the roof was in place, and doorways and home windows had been fitted.
But a better inspection revealed indicators of unfinished work. The clinic was locked, with no well being staff or sufferers in sight. No scientific companies had been being supplied.
PREMIUM TIMES had first visited the power in December 2025 and located that it was not offering scientific companies.
Aminu Nuhu, head of the Department of Health Services, Ankpa Local Government Council, recognized OAU PHC Ojoku as one of six services chosen for revitalisation within the council space.
He stated the council was nonetheless trying to find well being staff to deploy to some of the revitalised services.
“Those that have been revitalised, we are looking for staff to put in those facilities,” he stated.
However, the absence of personnel was not the one drawback.
Mr Nuhu stated a borehole had been drilled on the facility however couldn’t provide water as a result of there was no electrical energy or photo voltaic set up to energy the pump.
“They have completed it, but we are expecting them to put it into operation,” he stated.
Nearly 5 months after the primary go to, PREMIUM TIMES returned to the power and located that scientific companies had nonetheless not commenced.
A safety guard on the facility stated there was no medical gear inside.
“There is nothing inside,” he stated. “It’s just the building.”
The scenario at OAU PHC Ojoku was among the many issues uncovered throughout a months-long PREMIUM TIMES investigation into the Kogi State authorities’s multibillion-naira major healthcare revitalisation programme.
The investigation examined whether or not the federal government’s funding had translated into practical well being services succesful of delivering important companies to residents.
It discovered unfinished rehabilitation work, insufficient staffing, lack of primary infrastructure and well being staff working from short-term lodging, regardless of the federal government’s announcement that dozens of services had been revitalised and commissioned.
The N7 billion promise
In January 2025, the Kogi State authorities announced that it had dedicated over N7 billion, with help from the World Bank, to upgrade 88 PHCs throughout the state’s 21 LGAs.
The announcement was made in the course of the formal handover of challenge websites to contractors on the Model PHC in Felele, Lokoja.
Governor Ahmed Ododo, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Abdulazeez Adams, stated the intervention would contribute to the upgrading of greater than 150 PHCs into practical Level 2 services.
The contractors had been directed to finish the initiatives inside 4 months.
On 7 November 2025, the state authorities announced the commissioning of 80 revitalised PHCs.
Muazu Musa, government director of the Kogi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, stated the services had been reworked from Level 1 to Level 2.
Under the federal authorities’s 2025 HOPE-PHC Programme Operations Manual, practical Level 2 PHCs are anticipated to provide 24-hour well being companies, together with primary emergency obstetric and neonatal care.
The programme’s verification framework additionally covers the supply of expert beginning attendants, dependable electrical energy or backup solar energy, practical bogs with water and entry to scrub water.
These necessities are meant to make sure that upgraded services can provide important healthcare companies past enhancements to their bodily buildings.
However, the Kogi State Government didn’t provide PREMIUM TIMES with the entire listing of the 80 services it announced as commissioned.
As a consequence, the newspaper couldn’t independently set up whether or not the services inspected in the course of the investigation had been amongst these formally commissioned.
Following the cash: N6.09 billion in 4 contracts
A evaluation of Kogi State procurement disclosures revealed 4 infrastructure contracts masking 88 PHCs.
The contracts had a mixed worth of N6.1 billion and had been awarded to Multi Purpose Errand Mens Services Ltd, QSA Nigeria Ltd, Inknuel Ltd and Base-SAN Ventures Nigeria Ltd.
The information confirmed that N5.5 billion, representing roughly 90.6 per cent of the mixed contract worth, had been recorded as paid to the 4 contractors.
PREMIUM TIMES couldn’t independently confirm the funds in opposition to financial institution statements or authorities treasury information. The figures are subsequently described as quantities recorded ‘as paid’ within the procurement disclosure.
The procurement information additionally revealed a discrepancy within the geographical protection of the contracts.
Although the state authorities stated the intervention coated all 21 LGAs, the descriptions of the 4 contract heaps recognized solely 20 distinct LGAs.
Kogi LGA, whose headquarters is Koton-Karfe, was not listed in any of the 4 heaps.
This doesn’t essentially imply the LGA was excluded from the intervention. However, with out the entire listing of the 88 beneficiary services, PREMIUM TIMES couldn’t decide whether or not the omission occurred within the procurement abstract or mirrored the precise distribution of the initiatives.
The mixed contract worth of N6.1 billion was additionally decrease than the federal government’s announced dedication of over N7 billion.
The obtainable information didn’t clarify what extra actions or expenditures accounted for the distinction.
Separately, the state’s 2025 fourth-quarter Budget Implementation Report recorded a ultimate funds of N8.205 billion for the broader Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT) programme.
The report confirmed year-to-date expenditure of roughly N7.818 billion.
However, the IMPACT programme covers actions past the 4 infrastructure contracts. Its expenditure can not subsequently be handled as the quantity spent particularly on the 88 PHC rehabilitation initiatives.
The information obtainable to PREMIUM TIMES didn’t reconcile these figures.
Questions over Lot D contractor
One of the contracts, recognized as Lot D, was awarded to Base-SAN Ventures Nigeria Ltd for work masking 23 PHCs throughout Ankpa, Olamaboro, Omala, Ofu, Dekina, Ibaji and Bassa LGAs.
The procurement disclosure recorded roughly N1.069 billion as paid underneath the contract.
During a follow-up go to to PHC Ankpa, PREMIUM TIMES discovered a challenge signboard figuring out “BASESAN VENTURE NIG LTD” because the contractor answerable for upgrading the power.
The variation between the corporate title on the signboard and the title within the procurement disclosure raised questions in regards to the contractor’s exact authorized identification.
Separately, publicly obtainable company data reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES recognized BASESAN Ventures Limited, with registration quantity RC 822294, and listed an individual named “Sanni Eggidi A” as an individual with vital management.
The newspaper couldn’t independently set up whether or not BASESAN Ventures Limited, Base-SAN Ventures Nigeria Ltd and the corporate named on the challenge signboard had been the identical authorized entity or associated corporations.
PREMIUM TIMES subsequently contacted Sanni Abdulraheem, the member representing Ajaokuta Federal Constituency within the House of Representatives, searching for clarification on whether or not he had any connection to BASESAN Ventures Limited.
The similarity between the title within the company data and that of the lawmaker doesn’t set up that they consult with the identical particular person.
The newspaper additionally sought clarification on the connection between the businesses and requested information referring to the 23 PHCs coated by Lot D, together with their accredited scopes of work, completion standing and inspection and certification paperwork.
The lawmaker’s response has not been acquired as of publication.
Missing information, unanswered questions
Beyond the discrepancies in contract values and geographical protection, the procurement disclosure didn’t establish all 88 PHCs individually.
It additionally didn’t specify the accredited scope of work, contract worth or fee standing for every facility.
The state authorities didn’t provide PREMIUM TIMES with the entire listing of the 80 PHCs announced as commissioned in November 2025.
Without these paperwork, it was inconceivable to match the services coated by the contracts with these announced as accomplished and commissioned.
The absence of facility-level inspection reviews and completion certificates additionally prevented impartial verification of what was accredited, delivered, and licensed at particular person challenge websites.
These gaps don’t, on their very own, set up diversion of funds or failure to execute the contracts. They do, nonetheless, restrict public scrutiny of the federal government’s claims in regards to the intervention.
Between December 2025 and September 2026, PREMIUM TIMES inspected and revisited well being services throughout Ankpa, Lokoja and Ajaokuta LGAs.
The newspaper interviewed well being staff, residents, and authorities officers; examined challenge signboards; and reviewed procurement and funds paperwork.
The findings concern services that native officers or site-level proof linked to the state intervention.
PHCC Ankpa: companies working, issues persist
At the Primary Health Care Centre in Ankpa (PHCC Ankpa), scientific companies had been ongoing when PREMIUM TIMES first visited.
The facility supplied antenatal care, routine immunisation, household planning, outpatient consultations and supply companies.
Momo Oneshona, the officer-in-charge, stated the centre may obtain as many as 70 sufferers on Mondays for immunisation, antenatal care and normal consultations.
However, the power confronted vital operational challenges.
Health staff stated there was no working water, grid electrical energy or solar energy for normal operations.
The obtainable photo voltaic set up served the vaccine fridges.
“We don’t have solar, we don’t have water here, we don’t have light,” Mrs Oneshona stated.
She defined that staff sterilised reusable devices by boiling them over gasoline or odd stoves.
During the preliminary inspection, the laboratory was padlocked and appeared dusty.
The facility additionally confronted workers shortages.
“We have a shortage of staff,” Mrs Oneshona stated. “They retire; no replacement.”
She estimated that about seven staff had been actively offering companies, together with three Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) and two Junior CHEWS.
According to Mrs Oneshona, the scarcity of personnel and absence of a safety guard meant the power couldn’t function in a single day.
This fell quick of the 24-hour service expectations for practical Level 2 PHCs.
Contractors left unfinished work
Beyond the operational challenges, PREMIUM TIMES noticed an unfinished constructing present process rehabilitation inside the facility’s compound.
Doors and window frames had been eliminated and piled inside, while openings within the partitions and roof remained uncovered.
“They scattered our place and went away,” Mrs Oneshona stated. “We only saw them working, then they departed.”
Mr Nuhu, the Ankpa LGA well being official, confirmed that PHCC Ankpa was amongst six services chosen for revitalisation.
He stated building staff left the challenge between December 2025 and January 2026 and had not returned by the point of the newspaper’s preliminary inspection.
Of the six services, he recognized PHC Emekutu as the one one he thought of absolutely accomplished on the time of his interview.
Mr Nuhu additionally described broader staffing challenges throughout Ankpa LGA.
He estimated that the council had 68 functioning PHCs however solely about 50 to 55 per cent of the personnel required to function them successfully.
According to him, 12 services relied totally on volunteers, while six or seven retired well being staff had been retained to maintain companies working.
Laboratory affected by rainwater
When PREMIUM TIMES returned to PHCC Ankpa on 28 September 2026, the laboratory was accessible.
Rain had fallen shortly earlier than the go to.
Water was seen on sections of the laboratory flooring, while damp and discoloured patches appeared on components of the partitions.
A challenge signboard on the facility recognized the work because the “Upgrading of Primary Health Care Centre Ankpa – Ankpa LGA”.
It named Kogi State IMPACT Project 2024 because the shopper and listed “BASESAN VENTURE NIG LTD” because the contractor.
The procurement disclosure individually recognized Base-SAN Ventures Nigeria Ltd because the contractor for Lot D, masking 23 PHCs throughout seven LGAs.
Although the signboard linked PHCC Ankpa to the IMPACT challenge, PREMIUM TIMES couldn’t receive the power’s accredited scope of work, valuation, fee information or completion certificates.
Lokongoma PHC: Renovation adopted by extra building
At PHC Lokongoma, in Lokoja, native well being officers linked the power to the state’s revitalisation programme.
When PREMIUM TIMES visited on 13 May 2026, the centre had a brand new perimeter fence, a paved compound, freshly painted partitions and crimson roofing.
However, the gate was locked when the reporter arrived at roughly 5:45 p.m.
A close-by store proprietor stated well being staff typically left between 2 p.m. and three p.m.
According to the resident, the clinic supplied antenatal care, deliveries, routine immunisation and remedy for minor diseases when open.
PREMIUM TIMES didn’t receive the power’s responsibility roster to independently confirm its working hours.
The resident additionally stated the clinic had been renovated lower than a yr earlier.
Subsequent pictures confirmed that building actions continued after the May inspection.
Images dated 9 July 2026 confirmed work on sections of the crimson roof, extra buildings and paving.
By 20 July, additional pictures confirmed blue roofing, extra buildings and extra paving.
The pictures set up that additional work befell after the May go to.
However, PREMIUM TIMES couldn’t decide whether or not companies continued throughout building or whether or not the successive works shaped half of the identical challenge.
The obtainable information additionally didn’t set up what every spherical of building coated, who financed it or whether or not the work had been inspected and licensed.
Ganaja PHC: Eight years at school school rooms
At Ganaja, in Ajaokuta LGA, well being staff had been nonetheless offering healthcare companies from two borrowed school rooms inside UBE Standard College when PREMIUM TIMES visited.
Local well being officers linked the power to the state’s revitalisation programme.
Health staff stated flooding had compelled them to desert their unique constructing almost eight years earlier.
Since then, they’d been working from the short-term lodging.
“We were on the other side before, but flood covered that place,” the Officer-in-Charge, recognized as Ms Aminu, stated. “We are just managing this place as a temporary site.”
Across the highway from the varsity, the previous PHC confirmed indicators of extended abandonment.
Vegetation had overtaken components of the compound, while refuse had gathered across the deteriorating constructing.
Inside the varsity, one classroom served as an workplace and session room.
Medical provides, vaccine carriers, desks, chairs and affected person information occupied the restricted house.
The association constrained the companies well being staff may provide.
Ms Aminu stated the lecture rooms couldn’t accommodate affected person admissions or maternity companies.
She estimated that roughly 10 staff had been hooked up to the power however stated there was no midwife.
As a consequence, pregnant girls requiring supply companies had been referred elsewhere.
Ms Aminu stated a substitute PHC was being constructed elsewhere in Ganaja.
She estimated that the challenge was about 70 per cent full.
However, PREMIUM TIMES couldn’t independently confirm the estimate as a result of the reporter couldn’t find and examine the development website.
Ms Aminu couldn’t provide sufficiently exact instructions, and nobody was obtainable to accompany the reporter.
She additionally couldn’t provide a completion date or point out when well being staff would relocate.
When PREMIUM TIMES returned in September 2026, the clinic was nonetheless working from the varsity school rooms.
Nearly eight years after flooding displaced the unique facility, well being staff and sufferers had been nonetheless ready for a everlasting constructing.
The scenario additionally raised questions on whether or not the substitute challenge had adequately thought of the flooding that compelled the relocation.
PREMIUM TIMES didn’t set up the trigger of the unique flooding or attribute it particularly to local weather change.
The paperwork reviewed didn’t embrace a flood-risk, environmental or climate-vulnerability evaluation exhibiting what safeguards had been included into the substitute challenge.
Commissioned, however had been the services prepared?
The Kogi State authorities’s November 2025 announcement that 80 PHCs had been commissioned instructed substantial progress in its healthcare revitalisation programme.
However, findings from services inspected by PREMIUM TIMES revealed gaps between infrastructure growth and the supply of practical healthcare companies.
At OAU PHC Ojoku, a newly painted constructing remained with out scientific companies throughout follow-up visits.
At PHCC Ankpa, sufferers continued receiving care regardless of unfinished rehabilitation work, staffing shortages and insufficient water and electrical energy provide.
At Lokongoma, extra building was documented months after an earlier renovation.
At Ganaja, well being staff continued working from college school rooms while awaiting a everlasting facility.
Local officers or site-level proof linked these services to the state’s intervention.
However, as a result of the entire commissioning listing was unavailable, PREMIUM TIMES couldn’t set up whether or not any of the 4 services was among the many 80 announced as commissioned.
The newspaper additionally couldn’t receive facility-level inspection reviews or completion certificates exhibiting what had been assessed and licensed earlier than commissioning.
These gaps depart necessary questions unanswered in regards to the standards used to declare services prepared, the work accomplished at particular person websites and whether or not the upgrades translated into the companies anticipated of Level 2 PHCs.
Government fails to provide challenge information
PREMIUM TIMES sought explanations and supporting paperwork from the Kogi State authorities earlier than finishing the investigation.
On 15 May 2026, the newspaper submitted written requests underneath Nigeria’s Freedom of Information Act 2011 to the Kogi State Ministry of Health and the Kogi State Primary Health Care Development Agency.
The requests sought a list of PHCs; details of revitalisation and infrastructure initiatives; the identities of beneficiary services and contractors; contract sums; challenge standing; Basic Health Care Provision Fund disbursements; staffing data; and facility operational information.
The newspaper adopted up by means of phone calls and WhatsApp messages with the Commissioner for Health and Aisha Mohammed, who recognized herself as secretary and private assistant to the manager director of the State’s major healthcare company.
When the requests didn’t produce substantive responses, PREMIUM TIMES contacted the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo.
The newspaper knowledgeable him of the excellent requests and requested him to reply on behalf of the federal government or assist receive solutions from the related businesses.
Calls, WhatsApp messages and a textual content message had been despatched to Mr Fanwo, together with a reminder that the report was being finalised and that the federal government’s response may nonetheless be included.
By publication time, the state authorities had not supplied the entire schedule of the 88 services, the listing of 80 commissioned PHCs, facility-level scopes of work, inspection reviews or completion certificates.
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