Peter Obi Raises Alarm Over PHC Staffing Crisis, Warns Nigerians at Risk

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has raised fresh concerns about the capacity of Nigeria’s primary healthcare system, warning that severe shortages of health workers could leave millions of Nigerians exposed to preventable health emergencies.

Obi’s warning followed a report indicating that 97 per cent of assessed Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across 16 states failed to meet Nigeria’s national staffing standard.

Reacting to the findings in a statement shared on X on Monday, Obi said the scale of the reported shortage should be treated as a major public health concern rather than simply another healthcare statistic.

Obi links PHC staffing to preventable deaths

According to Obi, the staffing situation could point to a much wider problem across the country, suggesting that as many as 80 per cent of PHCs may not be functioning effectively.

He argued that the consequences of poorly staffed health facilities would be felt most severely by people who depend on primary healthcare because they cannot afford, or are unable to travel to, higher-level hospitals.

Pregnant women, newborns, children and people requiring basic medical attention could face particular risks when facilities lack enough qualified personnel to provide timely care.

Obi said healthcare remains one of the most important measures of national development and described primary healthcare as the foundation on which a functional health system should be built.

His position is that having a healthcare facility physically located within a community means little if there are insufficient medical personnel available to operate it effectively.

Why primary healthcare centres matter

PHCs are generally the first formal point of contact between Nigerians and the healthcare system, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

They are expected to provide essential services including maternal and child healthcare, immunisation, treatment of common illnesses, health education and other basic medical services.

When such facilities are understaffed, patients may be forced to travel farther for treatment or wait longer before receiving attention. In emergencies, those delays can become especially serious.

The staffing issue also goes beyond the number of buildings available. A functional healthcare system requires qualified personnel, medicines, equipment, funding and an effective system for retaining workers in areas where they are most needed.

Obi questions development priorities

Obi also used the findings to criticise what he described as an excessive emphasis on physical infrastructure without sufficient attention to the services required to make public institutions work.

He argued that national progress should be judged not only by completed projects but also by measurable improvements in people’s lives.

Among the indicators he highlighted were the number of lives saved, operational health facilities, availability of qualified healthcare workers and the quality of medical services accessible to ordinary Nigerians.

He further maintained that a person’s ability to receive healthcare should not depend on their financial circumstances or geographical location.

What Obi wants government to do

The former presidential candidate called for increased investment in healthcare and stronger attention to the country’s primary healthcare network.

His recommendations include the recruitment and retention of essential health workers, improved funding for primary healthcare facilities and measures to make quality healthcare more affordable and accessible.

Obi said Nigeria could not achieve meaningful national development while preventable health problems continued to threaten citizens.

“We cannot create a New Nigeria while allowing our people to die from issues that a functioning Primary Healthcare system should prevent,” he said.

What happens next?

The central issue raised by the report and Obi’s reaction is whether governments at the federal and state levels can translate investment in healthcare infrastructure into adequately staffed and operational facilities.

The reported 97 per cent figure relates to assessed PHCs in 16 states, so it should not automatically be interpreted as a measurement of every PHC in Nigeria. Obi’s estimate that roughly 80 per cent of PHCs nationwide may be ineffective is his assessment based on the reported findings, rather than an independently established nationwide figure.

The broader concern, however, remains significant: a primary healthcare centre cannot fully serve its community without the personnel needed to provide care.

For Nigerians who rely on PHCs as their first—and sometimes only—access point to formal healthcare, the effectiveness of efforts to recruit, deploy and retain health workers could ultimately determine whether the facilities deliver the services communities were promised.