The Enugu State Government yesterday formally handed over the state diagnostic centre to the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, managers of Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund.
The State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, performed the handover during NSIA’s official launch of two of its flagship companies, the NSIA Advanced Medical Service Ltd (“MedServe”) and Equilease Systems Limited (“Equilease”), held at the Enugu State Diagnostic Centre Complex.
Ugwuanyi, in his speech, said “The physical and mental well-being of the workforce in any state is a function of the quality of healthcare services available.
“The partnership with NSIA to transform this facility with the promise of significantly better equipment and services will go a long way towards contributing to healthcare security in the state. With this, our state will be one of the few states equipped with world-class healthcare infrastructure and amenities,” he maintained.
Delivering his remarks on the three-part event, Mr Aminu Umar-Sadiq, the MD & CEO, NSIA, commended the state government for signing the agreement that necessitated the transfer.
Umar-Sadiq said “Over the past five years, we have built a strong and successful portfolio of healthcare service delivery centres.
“The transfer of the Enugu Centre for upgrade and rehabilitation is one of the steps in our journey towards making healthcare accessible and affordable for all Nigerians. The Centre is one of the 23 centres to be upgraded for Oncology and Diagnostic services.”
He added, “MedServe and Equilease are transformative, market-disrupting entities that will deliver a unique set of connected solutions to bridge the gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare industry. The outcome from the creation of these entities is expected to strengthen the industry’s value chain and unclog the constraints created by insufficient financial investments, inadequate manpower capacity and substandard services.”
Speaking specifically on the companies, Umar-Sadiq explained that MedServe is being set up to serve as the vehicle to deliver NSIA’s healthcare expansion objectives. Its goal according to him is to provide high quality and affordable healthcare services and ensure equitable geographic access to these services across the country.
“The company will develop, equip, and operate NSIA’s expanding portfolio of healthcare centres and offer first class medical services nationwide.”
About EquiLease, he stated that it is a specialised equipment leasing service provider. Conceived as a market disruptor, the company will provide medical equipment leasing services, leveraging its strategic advantage to catalyze investments in healthcare institutions and facilitating the acquisition of equipment to improve the quality of care in the country.
He noted that Equilease would partner with medical equipment manufacturers to offer innovative financing and leasing programs for advanced medical equipment. At the onset, it will offer services exclusively to MedServe as an anchor client.

The Federal Airports Au
thority of Nigeria has issued a warning to all illegal occupants of airport lands to vacate the premises for their own safety and security.
According to a statement yesterday, the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, the recent demolition of 13 houses was because they posed dangers to the operations of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos State.
She said, “The occupants of these buildings were duly notified of the impending demolitions and intensive awareness campaign through “stop work” markings and the planting of notice boards within the Red Zone.
“In September, 2022, FAAN wrote to LASG for their cooperation in conducting this exercise in the interest of Aviation and Communal Safety and Security.
“The removal of illegal structures is also scheduled to be carried out at all other airports that have similar challenges.”
Hope-Ivbaze further explained that the area of land currently housing the airport was acquired for public use by the federal government through the lands acquisition ordinance by the government official gazettes in 1944, 1972, and 1975, respectively.
She noted that FAAN noticed some encroachments within its acquired land and a committee was set up to investigate and compel those encroaching to cease and desist from such actions sometime in the year 2000.
“The committee thus put up “Caveat Emptors” and positioned them strategically within the areas under encroachment (they are still in place).
“Publications were done in national dailies and advertorial jingles in local radio stations, warning people of the risks in purchasing and building on Restricted Aviation Land without consideration to the direct dangers on aircraft operations and the building occupants themselves,” she said.
According to her, in 2008, “some residents of the Ajao axis of the encroached land, under the aegis of runview cooperative” approached the Authority for regularisation of their stay on the land.
She disclosed that the committee was charged with finding ways of identifying and regularising only those properties located in positions that do not pose direct and critical challenges to airport safety and security.
“To avoid a situation of wanton damage and colossal losses, the present administration, on assuming office, inaugurated a regularisation committee on FAAN encroached lands and property.
“The FAAN directorates of Airport Operations and Aviation Security commenced stakeholders’ engagements and met severally with the residents of the Ajao axis (all meetings recorded and filed), bringing to their knowledge the dangers of erecting houses on pipelines, waterways, and the airport’s perimeter fence (blocking access for security patrols).
“Most of the residents cooperated, except for the few who ignored and continued erecting their structures in the red zone.”
Hope-Ivbaze said that in the committee’s report submitted in 2022, out of 254 buildings evaluated, 220 buildings were recommended for regularisation as they pose no direct/critical security or safety challenges to the airport.
She added that the 34 others that were built within FAAN’s perimeter fence and mostly erected above the aviation fuel pipeline and waterways, clearly posing direct safety and security challenges to the airport and to their owners, and occupants themselves, were marked for demolition.