Healthcare: 13 Lifelines For Ogun As Nigeria Rebuilds Emergency Care Chain
Dr. Nafisat Makinde
The Federal Government has deployed 13 ambulances to Ogun State as part of efforts to strengthen emergency medical response and improve access to urgent care. The allocation comprises three Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances, one Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance and nine tricycle ambulances for selected health facilities across the state.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, disclosed this on Friday, September 4, 2026, during the flag off and distribution of the vehicles at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta. The development was contained in a statement signed by Ado Bako, Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
The ambulances are to serve federal and state tertiary institutions, including FMC Abeokuta and Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), as well as selected high volume and remote secondary and primary healthcare facilities. The Ogun allocation forms part of the first phase of a national emergency medical services programme under the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS), through which the Federal Government has acquired 145 tricycle ambulances, six boats, 15 BLS ambulances and 79 ALS ambulances, alongside communication and other support equipment.
Salako said the programme was being developed beyond the provision of ambulances to link emergency dispatch, communication, trained personnel, pre hospital care, transportation, referral pathways and receiving hospitals. He said NEMSAS and the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative had provided more than 48,000 women with free emergency obstetric care and more than 4,000 women with free caesarean sections in NHIA empanelled facilities. According to the minister, the interventions had contributed to a 17 per cent reduction in maternal deaths and a 12 per cent reduction in newborn deaths across 172 high burden local government areas.
The minister directed beneficiary facilities to deploy the ambulances according to identified emergency needs, maintain them properly, use them exclusively for designated emergency medical services and operate them with trained personnel. He also called on the Ogun State Government and beneficiary facilities to provide operational and maintenance funding. “The true value of these ambulances will be measured not by their presence at today’s ceremony, but by their performance in moments of crisis,” Salako said, adding that the vehicles were not intended for transporting corpses or making market trips to purchase drugs and other hospital consumables.
Salako also said the Federal Government would work with the legislative arm and other stakeholders to address what he described as a fragmented regulatory framework for first responders and emergency management. He said NEMSAS would continue efforts to establish a coordinated system connecting emergency dispatch, pre hospital care, transportation and hospitals receiving emergency patients.
The minister separately disclosed that his office had received complaints and media reports alleging unprofessional conduct, dereliction of duty and illegal collection of levies by some officials at FMC Abeokuta. He said the complaints would receive comprehensive attention and that anyone found culpable would be sanctioned under the Public Service Rules. “When patients come to our hospitals, the minimum they expect is professional medical care, support, clear communication and respectful treatment,” Salako said.