An investigation by TheCable has found that several multi-billion-naira hospitals built by the Nigerian government and named after former President Muhammadu Buhari remain unused years after they were completed and commissioned.
The hospitals were designed to provide maternal, child and general healthcare, particularly in communities where access to medical services is limited. However, many of the facilities remain locked, overgrown with weeds and deteriorating because they lack medical personnel, funding and operational management.
In Ibadan, Oyo State, the Muhammadu Buhari Mother and Child Hospital in Ogbere Resettlement has remained closed since it was commissioned in 2023. Residents had expected the 100-bed facility to improve access to maternal healthcare, but women in the community still travel considerable distances to receive treatment.
One resident, Esther Nicholas, lost one of her twins during childbirth in 2025. She said the distance to the hospital where she received care was one of the factors she believed contributed to the loss.
The investigation found that the hospital was equipped with operating theatres, wards, consultation rooms, a laboratory, scanning equipment and other medical facilities. However, the building has never become fully operational.
Senator Teslim Folarin, who facilitated the Ibadan project, reportedly approached the Federal Ministry of Health and the University College Hospital (UCH) in an attempt to have the facility taken over. According to his media aide, both institutions said they lacked sufficient medical personnel and funding to operate the hospital.
The investigation also identified similar problems in several other states.
In Osun State, hospitals in Osogbo and Ipetumodu remain unused. Residents in Ipetumodu said parts of the facility had been attacked by thieves, with several air conditioners reportedly stolen.
In Kwara State, hospitals in Igbaja and Oro have also remained largely inactive, although the Oro facility was recently reactivated with very limited operations.
A hospital in Plateau State also remains abandoned despite previous plans by the state government to take over the facility. In Taraba State, another hospital has deteriorated significantly after years without meaningful activity.
However, two facilities in Ogun State have been put to use. The hospital in Iperu is operational and provides general healthcare services, while the facility in Ikenne is also functioning under the state's general hospital system, although part of the building remains unused.
According to GovSpend, more than ₦1.20 billion was released between 2021 and 2023 to contractors for the projects by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs).
The investigation argues that the problem goes beyond the construction of buildings. Hospitals require trained doctors and nurses, funding, equipment, maintenance and integration into the wider healthcare system.
Health experts also warned that Nigeria's shortage and uneven distribution of healthcare workers is worsening access to medical services, particularly in rural communities.
Biobele Davidson of BudgIT Foundation said the government needs to focus on human resources as much as infrastructure, warning that empty hospital buildings cannot provide healthcare to people.
The investigation concludes that the abandoned hospitals demonstrate a broader problem in Nigeria's public healthcare system: government spending on infrastructure does not automatically translate into healthcare delivery unless the facilities are properly staffed, funded and managed.
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