Abuja, Dec. 13, 2025 (NAN) Yobe on Friday emerged winner of the overall Best Performing State of the 2025 National Primary Health Care (PHC) Leadership Challenge Awards.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Yobe, at third edition Award Night held in Abuja, secured a grand prize of 700,000 dollar for its outstanding commitment to strengthening primary health care services.
The state also won the Zonal Best Performing State award for the North-East, which carried a prize of $500,000, making its total winnings 1.2 million dollar.
NAN reports that the award was organised by Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), in partnership with Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and UNICEF, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The initiative aimed to drive accountability and foster healthy competition among states to improve health outcomes and the quality of care delivered at the grassroots level.
Yobe was recognised based on key performance indicators, notably: demonstration of excellence in quality of care and patients’ satisfaction.
The zonal awards saw winners in each geo-political zone receiving 500,000 dollar, while the first runners-up were awarded 400,000 dollar each.
Other states that won the Zonal Best Performing State awards’ were: Nasarawa (North-Central) Zamfara (North-West) Abia (South-East) Rivers (South-South) and Osun (South-West).
The runners-up for the best performing state awards were: Gombe (North-East), Kwara (North-Central), Kaduna State (North-West), Anambra (South-East), Bayelsa (South-South) and Ogun (South-West).
NAN reports that the prizes awarded, totalling 6.1 million dollar, were intended to be re-invested by the winning states to further enhance their primary health care infrastructure, services and human resource capacity.
This is said to be in line with the Federal Government’s National Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII) which prioritises strengthening the PHC system as the foundation of universal health coverage.
In his remarks, Vice-President Kashim Shettima congratulated all the winners, and commended the state governors for their leadership and support towards improving health outcomes.
Shettima, represented by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, noted that constructive competition, like the PHC Leadership Challenge, ensured that “Nigeria wins.”
He highlighted the progress made in the health sector since the governors signed a long-term contract with President Bola Tinubu two years ago under the sector-wide programme.
“Between 2024 and now, we’ve seen 20 states surpassing their targets in 2024,” he said.
The vice-president added that states had also increased their budget allocations for health to ₦2.6 billion compared with what previous allocations.
According to him, a healthy individual is key to national development.
“Health is a fundamental aspiration for every human being. Wherever you see good health, someone has invested in it. State governments, Federal Government, all of us have to invest in health,” he stated.
Shettima called on the governors to increase their investments in the health care, projecting that the total allocation to the health sector should reach at least ₦3.5 trillion in the next fiscal year, given the resources available to the states.
Acknowledging that Nigerians were still facing the challenge of affordability of health care services, he said that the Federal Government was intervening to cut down the cost of drugs, diagnosis and tests, especially for those without deep pockets.
Shettima stressed the need for state governments to see merit in joining the federal government in achieving this.
He highlighted the multiplier effects of investing in health to include: increase in healthier and more productive population, accumulation of human capital to boost the country’s prosperity and social capital to build stronger communities.
He added that health investments would attract manufacturing and create jobs, citing the first African factory to produce long-lasting insecticide nets, which he described as groundbreaking.
The vice-president expressed the hope that in the next five years, Nigeria would become self-sufficient in investing in its own health sector and reducing dependency on external assistance.
Speaking on behalf of the winning states, Gov. Alex Otti of Abia commended the NGF, the World Bank, UNDP, UNICEF and other sponsors of the award, pledging that states would raise the bar in 2026.
“I just want to say we are very grateful, and we know that the reward for hard work is more work. So, we assure you that we are going to raise the bar.
“For us, the spending on health care, we don’t spend it as an investment, because once you begin to look at investment, the next thing you will know will be return.
“We see investment in health care as a necessary condition for people to survive in our states. So, we don’t think that this is money you are investing and tomorrow you will get a commission. It is an essential part of your life,’’ Oti said.
Also speaking with newsmen, Gov. Dauda Lawal of Zamfarara, pledged that the 500,000 dollars won by the state would be re-invested to refurbish some of the PHC centres in the state.
“It is very exciting to see someone recognising what you do and I will continue to do more.
“We were spending our own money, and this is additional fund, we are going to put the money in the PHC in Zamfara State,’’ Lawal said.
He said that while inadequate funding remained a major challenge, his administration would continue to prioritise the health sector.
NAN
