A bill seeking to bar public and civil servants—along with their immediate family members—from using private schools and hospitals has passed second reading in the House of Representatives.
Titled the Private Institutions and Health Care Service Providers (Prohibition) Bill, 2025, the proposed legislation is sponsored by Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah, who represents the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia State.
Addressing journalists after the plenary on Tuesday, 22nd July, 2025, Ogah said the bill aims to rebuild public trust in Nigeria’s education and healthcare systems by mandating that government officials patronise the same institutions they oversee. He argued that doing so would eliminate conflicts of interest and push for urgent improvements in service delivery.
“It does not speak well of our country that our presidents and notable government functionaries are seen to be going abroad for medical treatment and even dying in the process,” Ogah said.
The lawmaker decried the deterioration of public schools and hospitals, blaming the trend on the elite’s reliance on private and foreign alternatives. “Public schools and healthcare centres have become a shadow of themselves, with little or no infrastructural development,” he stated.
Ogah backed his argument with statistics, noting that Nigerians spent approximately $29.29 billion on medical treatment abroad during the Buhari administration, and $38.17 million on foreign education between January and March 2024 alone.
“We must restore confidence in government institutions and promote the image of our country in the comity of nations,” he added.
Although similar proposals—such as a 2019 bill to ban overseas medical trips for public officials—have failed in past legislative sessions, Ogah expressed optimism that this effort would receive the necessary support to become law.
