The Federal Government has supported a proposed amendment to the National Mental Health Act to remove criminal penalties for attempted suicide and to promote a care-based approach to those affected.
The amendment will be sent to the National Assembly for legislative consideration, with the proposed changes aimed at replacing punitive measures with treatment, protection and appropriate support.
While briefing State House correspondents on the resolutions reached at the Federal Executive Council meeting, he revealed this.
Pate said the review was necessary because attempted suicide was still an offense under colonial-era provisions of the Criminal Code Act and Penal Code, while the National Mental Health Act provided for care and protection for persons at risk of self-harm.
He said people with mental health challenges who attempt suicide can still be arrested and prosecuted under existing law.
“The notion is that attempted suicide is not a crime,” Pate said. Those who commit suicide because of mental illness should be seen as people who need care and support, not as criminals, he stressed.
The amendment followed long discussions with mental health advocates, the Ministry of Justice, the Attorney-General’s Office, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, a task force and the National Assembly, he said.
Pate said the goal of the reform is to move away from criminalization and toward treatment and support and she anticipates the reform will help decrease the number of both completed suicides and suicide attempts.
We want to bring it down by 15% by 2030,” the minister said.
Pate said the reform would also help Nigeria address the larger burden of mental ill-health in the country.
The Federal Executive Council also approved the National Center for Oral Health Establishment Bill 2026 to the National Assembly.
“The proposed center will serve as a national referral and research institution for oral health services, as well as develop a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for the management of oral diseases and other oral health-related conditions in Nigeria.
He said the initiative was anchored on a 1982 International Congress of Oral Health Research held in Lagos which recommended the establishment of an inter-country demonstration, training and research center for the African region.
He said the Ministry of Health had set up a center but it lacked a legal framework to back it up.
The bill was expected to give the legal basis and strengthen the institutional capacity of Nigeria in the area of oral health.
Pate said the development would fill a major gap in the country’s health infrastructure, noting that Nigeria already had specialized institutions in fields like teaching hospitals, federal medical centers, orthopedic care, eye care, ear, nose and throat services and snake-bite treatment.
The Council also approved contracts for some major infrastructure upgrade at the National Hospital, Abuja.
“The hospital was established about 25 to 26 years ago with the ultimate vision of being a quaternary health care center. However, over the years, the hospital had not been getting the requisite infrastructure and equipment upgrades,” Pate said.
“The approvals are in line with the directive of President Bola Tinubu to transform the country through infrastructure upgrade and better equipment in the health sector,” he said.
The approved contracts included the refitting of the administrative and management block of the National Hospital awarded to Visible Construction Limited at the cost of N18,740,038.
Strabbing Construction Limited got N64,917,827,000 for construction of modular clinics and a theater complex.
Pate said the project will include modular clinics for various specialties and theaters.
CBC Global Civil Construction Limited has secured yet another contract for N103 billion for the construction of a high-end wing at the National Hospital with a completion period of 24 months.
The Council also approved the building of a Neuroscience Institute at the National Hospital by CBC Global Civil and Building Construction Limited at the cost of N69 billion.
The neuroscience facility will offer specific infrastructure for neurosurgical, radiological, interventional and rehabilitation services, Pate said.
Such specialized infrastructure was particularly crucial to patients suffering from conditions including stroke, brain tumors and other diseases affecting the brain and nervous system, he said.
She said the size of the approvals reflected the need for Nigeria to invest heavily in healthcare infrastructure.
“Good quality healthcare isn’t cheap. “Nigeria needs to invest in its health care system to have the health care system we want,” he said.
The total investment approved for the National Hospital by the present administration was more than the investment into the institution in the past 27 years, Pate said.
Federal Executive Council also approved a major project for the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT).
The project consists of the design, construction, furnishing, equipment, supervision and commissioning of a National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment Center.
The contract was awarded to CBC Global Civil and Building Construction Nigeria Limited for N302,304,243,000, to be completed in 36 months.
The project was one of the Federal Government’s broader efforts to bolster the country’s cancer research and treatment infrastructure, Pate said.
He said President Tinubu had earlier approved the upgrade of cancer centers and equipment with the facilities in Katsina, Benin and Enugu already completed and inaugurated.
The minister said the new center at NICRAT would serve as a flagship institution for cancer research, treatment, innovation and capacity building.
Pate said NICRAT already had been included in the 2025 and 2026 budgets.
He said the contracts for National Hospital and NICRAT were funded from resources appropriated by the legislature to the relevant agencies and entities and not found in Federal Ministry of Health.
The agencies followed due process and obtained clearances via competitive procurement procedures through the Bureau of Public Procurement, he said.
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He said the selected contractors were assessed on their ability to implement specialized hospital and health infrastructure projects within the stipulated timelines.
He said the procurement processes and relevant matrices were under scrutiny and had been reviewed by the Federal Executive Council without objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement.
The minister said the level of approvals for health infrastructure was unprecedented and that in the past Nigeria had not invested enough in health infrastructure.
“The poor condition of many health facilities in the country showed the need for more investment in the sector, he said.
“Traditionally we have not invested as much in health as we do in roads, although roads are a major contributor to economic growth,” Pate said.
He said: “We are starting to change that and thanks to His Excellency Mr President.
He said as the Nigerian economy and government revenue grew, more resources would inevitably have to be devoted to healthcare.
Poor revenue, Pate said, had caused the neglect of health infrastructure at the federal and state levels, resulting in poor infrastructure and inadequate equipment at many primary health centers and general hospitals.
He said the government was now on track to address those deficiencies.
“The target is that these things are executed and Nigerians can see a transformation of the National Hospital and a befitting cancer center here at NICRAT,” he said.
The minister said the investments were expected to reduce the need for Nigerians to travel long distances to access specialized health care and contribute to reducing medical tourism.
