While delivering his speech at the 58th Annual Delegates’ Meeting and scientific conference of the Nigeria Medical Association in Abuja on Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari blamed the problems in the health care sector on the past leaders mostly the administration ran by Goodluck Jonathan, stating that when the global price of crude oil was over $100 per barrel per day, the Jonathan administration failed to seize the opportunity to invest in the health sector. He also added,”It is no longer news that we inherited a troubled health care sector and the sector has been troubled for a long time.”  “As one of the manifestations of the severely low spending on infrastructure generally and in health care in particular, I think that what we have seen through the years is a scandalously low level of funding for public health care in Nigeria.” “The level of public sector investment in health care in our recent past has in no way reflected our earnings, the high oil earnings, especially in the period between 2010 and 2015. That was when we earned the highest from oil prices.”

The Nigerian President stated that the health care sector must be improved but stressed that paying for health care from budgets would not be able to improve the health sector unless other concerned parties and donor agencies augment government’s efforts.