FG Restores Funding to Health Regulatory Bodies, Commissions RRN South-East Office to Curb Quackery
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening health sector regulation, announcing sustained budgetary support for professional regulatory bodies as it commissioned the South-East Zonal Office of the Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria in Enugu.
Speaking at the inauguration on Tuesday, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said the restoration of funding to health regulatory bodies under the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu marked a decisive step toward sanitising professional practice and eliminating quackery in the sector.
Salako noted that when the current administration assumed office in May 2023, regulatory agencies, including those in the health sector, had been excluded from government budgetary allocations. He said President Tinubu swiftly reversed the policy, recognising the critical oversight role of regulatory institutions in safeguarding patient safety and healthcare standards.
“Without proper regulation and monitoring, quackery thrives, standards are compromised, patients suffer, and health outcomes are negatively impacted,” the minister stated, stressing that the Federal Government would maintain strict scrutiny of professional conduct across the health sector.
He warned that malpractice, negligence and other infractions would attract appropriate sanctions, adding that regulatory bodies must reciprocate government support by intensifying enforcement of ethical standards and compliance mechanisms.
Salako described the newly commissioned zonal office as a strategic investment aligned with the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and the broader Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration. He said the project would enhance access to registration, licensing, compliance monitoring and continuing professional development for radiographers in the South-East and neighbouring regions.
He further disclosed that finishing touches and furnishing of the complex had been captured in the 2026 federal budget proposal, expressing optimism that the National Assembly would approve the allocation to enable the facility to become fully operational.
Commending the leadership of the board, particularly its Registrar, Professor Mark Chukwudi Okeji, the minister charged the agency to expand licensing coverage to ensure all practising radiographers in Nigeria are duly registered and compliant with radiation safety protocols.
“A well-regulated, highly skilled workforce guarantees accurate diagnoses, safer procedures and improved patient outcomes,” he said, urging the board to deepen digital transformation, strengthen accreditation systems and enforce continuing professional development programmes to keep practitioners abreast of evolving technology.
Salako also acknowledged the support of the Enugu State Government and commended Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah for ongoing reforms in the state’s health sector, including personnel recruitment, infrastructure upgrade and technology deployment.
He reaffirmed the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s commitment to working with states to ensure access to essential preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services without financial hardship.
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The minister paid tribute to Nigerian radiographers, describing them as the backbone of diagnostic services whose expertise in X-ray, MRI, CT and ultrasound imaging remains indispensable to modern healthcare delivery.
He said the commissioning of the Enugu Zonal Office symbolised a renewed unity of purpose among policymakers, regulators and practitioners to deliver safe, timely and high-quality radiography services nationwide.
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