Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Residents of the Sagbo Koji riverine community in the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State have cried out over the deplorable state of their only Primary Health Centre, accusing the local government of abandoning the facility to decay despite receiving a staggering N25.91 billion in Federation Account Allocation Committee disbursements within a single year. The facility, which was originally built by a non-governmental organisation and handed over to the local government for management, has become a symbol of broken promises, where patients are routinely turned away or forced to buy medications from private pharmacies because the centre has run out of essential drugs. For thousands of residents, particularly children, pregnant women and the elderly, the neglect has turned a public health facility into a costly nightmare, pushing many families deeper into poverty.
An analysis of FAAC disbursement records by SaharaReporters showed that Amuwo Odofin Local Government received N25.91 billion between June 2025 and May 2026, averaging approximately N2.16 billion every month from the federation account. The council received N1.763 billion in June 2025, N1.791 billion in July, N1.815 billion in August, N2.036 billion in September, N2.476 billion in October, N2.067 billion in November and N1.633 billion in December. In 2026, the allocations remained substantial, with the local government receiving N2.297 billion in January, N3.722 billion in February, N1.939 billion in March, N1.808 billion in April and N2.563 billion in May. Despite this steady inflow of public funds, residents told SaharaReporters that the community's only public health facility continues to operate without adequate medicines and basic medical supplies, leaving many families to shoulder healthcare costs that should ordinarily be covered at a primary healthcare centre.
Speaking with SaharaReporters, one resident described the ordeal families face whenever their children become ill. "Our children fall sick with nowhere to treat them. When we go to the PHC, the personnel on duty ask us to pay claiming that drugs were not provided by the government." The resident also recounted a recent experience. "In an instance, I paid N9,000 because of lack of drugs and we have many persons who are sick but cannot get good healthcare because they cannot afford to buy drugs." Another resident accused those managing the facility of prioritising revenue generation over public service, noting that officials at the PHC claim they are handicapped because the government has failed to supply drugs to them. "We do not understand what is going on, they have turned our health centre to a business centre, leaving people to die without proper care. We are appealing for urgent care and attention by those responsible for these developments," the resident said.
Residents said the situation has left many vulnerable people with little or no access to affordable healthcare, forcing some to delay treatment or resort to self-medication because they cannot afford the cost of prescribed medicines. They added that several attempts to draw the attention of the local government authorities to the deteriorating state of the facility have produced no tangible results. "We have made attempts to reach the Local government authorities on this development but nothing has been done," the resident said.
The neglect of the Sagbo Koji PHC is not an isolated case. Earlier reports have documented the absence of a functioning Primary Healthcare Centre in Ibasa and other communities on the island, despite a legislator's promise to build one in 2020. The Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency has also received feedback from the Amuwo Odofin community about the difficulty of accessing safe and affordable healthcare in the riverine areas of the state. In one instance, a woman with a swollen breast chose to go to a general hospital in a neighbouring council rather than the PHC in her own local government, underscoring the deep lack of trust in the facility.
For residents, the contrast between the local government's receipt of nearly N26 billion in statutory allocations within a year and the inability of the community's only Primary Health Centre to provide essential medicines and basic healthcare services raises serious questions about the prioritisation of healthcare spending and the utilisation of public funds. They called on the Amuwo Odofin Local Government, the Lagos State Government and relevant health authorities to urgently intervene by restoring the health centre to full functionality, ensuring a steady supply of essential medicines, upgrading basic medical facilities and deploying adequate health personnel to meet the healthcare needs of the riverine community.
The situation in Sagbo Koji highlights a broader crisis in Nigeria's primary healthcare system, where billions of naira in federal allocations often fail to translate into tangible improvements in service delivery at the grassroots level. Despite the surge in FAAC revenues following the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023, many local governments continue to underperform, leaving citizens to bear the brunt of poor governance and misappropriation of funds. The Amuwo Odofin case is a stark reminder that without accountability, transparency and a genuine commitment to public welfare, even the most generous allocations can become meaningless statistics.
As the residents of Sagbo Koji continue to struggle, their plea for urgent care and attention echoes across the riverine communities of Lagos State, where the promise of healthcare remains a distant dream for many. For the families who have been forced to pay out of pocket for services that should be free, the hope is that their voices will finally be heard and that the billions of naira flowing into the local government will one day translate into the medicines, equipment and personnel they desperately need.
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