The Federal Government has approved a 50% electricity subsidy for public hospitals across the country.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa, announced this on Thursday at the National Neo-Psychiatric Hospital in Barnawa, Kaduna State.

According to the Minister, Alausa said this gesture aims to reduce the running costs for public hospitals and alleviate the impact on patients. He also announced plans to rename the hospitals as Specialist Hospitals to broaden healthcare service delivery.

“We know they are development institutions, they are social institutions. But inside the health and educational institutions, private businesses are hiding under them. These people charge their customers commercially and they expect to be subsidised because they are located within the territories of these institutions.

We said no, go and do a proper search and meter everybody. For the ones that are properly health and education-related, we are ready to subsidise them, even if they are on Band A. We are compiling our data, DisCos will collect a certain amount and the government will pay the balance. But we must get the data right so that we are not subsidising a private business that is charging its customers commercially. That will be an abnormal profit and it is unfair.” he said