We spent N350m to get Africa’s best cancer centre — NSIA

The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has said it spent over N350m on the Cancer Centre at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) to make it the best in Africa as part of renewed efforts to bring healthcare closer to the people.

The NSIA Managing Director, Mr. Uche Orji, said this yesterday in Abuja at the 2019 Leadership Forum Series organized by the Nigerian Pilot Newspapers.

NSIA, which was set up in 2013 with about $1.5bn, is the government agency saddled with the management of the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the country.

Orji said similar gestures have been extended to the Advanced Diagnostic Centres at the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital to reduce the cost of treating cancer patients abroad by Nigerians.

According to him, the Cancer Centre in Lagos is presently treating 100 patients daily and is expected to treat about 200 patients daily in the next few months.

He said plans already on for are the authority to revive the Ajaokuta steel plant and all moribund refineries across the country with the view of creating more jobs for the people and increase the nation’s earnings.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman and Publisher of the Nigerian Pilot Newspapers, Prince Dennis Sammy, said the forum has being running for over 10 years now.

He said the purpose of the forum was to critically look at the impact of leaders in government on the people, and that those invited were in critical aspects that have direct bearing on the nation and the citizenry.