By Lukman Babatope
The Ekiti State Government has dismissed reports circulating on social media that only ₦68 million was allocated to primary health care (PHC) in the 2026 budget, describing the claim as false and misleading.
In a statement signed by the Information Officer of the Ekiti State Ministry of Health and Human Services, Mr Wale Obelewaji, the government said the figure being quoted represents a single capital expenditure line item and not the total allocation to primary health care or the health sector.
The ministry explained that primary health care financing in the state operates under a shared responsibility system involving the local, state, and federal governments.
According to the statement, local government councils are responsible for the day-to-day running and maintenance of PHC facilities, while the state government provides coordination, personnel support and infrastructure through the State Primary Health Care Development Agency.
It disclosed that the total allocation to the health sector in the 2026 budget is ₦19.65 billion, covering agencies such as the Ministry of Health, Primary Health Care Development Agency, Ekiti State Health Insurance Scheme, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Hospitals Management Board, Drugs and Health Supplies Management Agency and the State Agency for the Control of AIDS.
The ministry said that when all health-related votes are aggregated, more than ₦2 billion is allocated directly to primary health care in the 2026 budget, excluding investments in water, sanitation and other social factors captured under different ministries.
It stressed that isolating the ₦68 million capital line item gives a distorted picture of health spending and ignores personnel costs, health insurance payments, donor-funded programmes and local government contributions.
On actual expenditure, the government said Ekiti State spent over ₦33.7 billion on health in 2025, with more than half of the amount directed to primary health care.
The statement listed key drivers of the spending to include payments under the Ulerawa Free Health Insurance Scheme, renovation of 103 PHC facilities, procurement of medical commodities and incentives for health workers under the World Bank-assisted IMPACT Project.
Health sector spending in previous years was put at ₦16.8 billion in 2024, ₦8.7 billion in 2023 and ₦25.8 billion in 2022.
On workforce development, the ministry disclosed that 250 health workers were recruited in 2025, with 150 posted to PHC facilities, alongside the engagement of 300 community health vanguards to track pregnant women and link them to health centres.
It added that approval had been granted for the replacement of over 1,500 health workers at an annual cost of ₦1.8 billion, most of whom would serve at the primary health care level.
The ministry also reported improved service utilisation, noting that outpatient visits rose from 1.14 million in 2023 to 2.17 million in 2025, with 1.85 million visits recorded in PHC facilities.
According to the statement, 722,025 residents are currently enrolled under the state’s free health insurance scheme, while 10,935 free deliveries were conducted in 2025.
It added that 200,369 children were immunised, 104,278 pregnant women received antenatal care, and more than 736,000 malaria tests and 591,000 treatments were provided free of charge.
The ministry concluded that claims that Ekiti State budgeted only ₦68 million for primary health care are incorrect and called for fact-based public discourse on health financing.
