The Federal Government has approved a proposed amendment to the National Mental Health Act to remove criminal penalties for attempted suicide and promote a care-based approach to affected persons.
The amendment will be forwarded to the National Assembly for legislative consideration, with the proposed changes intended to swap punitive measures for treatment, protection and appropriate support.
He made the disclosure while briefing State House correspondents on the resolutions reached at the Federal Executive Council meeting.
Pate said the review was necessary because under colonial-era provisions of the Criminal Code Act and Penal Code, attempted suicide was still an offense, although the National Mental Health Act provided for the care and protection of persons at risk of self-harm.
He said that under the current legal framework, people who have mental health challenges who attempt suicide could still be arrested and prosecuted.
“The thought is that attempting suicide is not a crime,” Pate said. He insisted that people who attempt suicide because of mental illness should be treated as people needing care and support and not as offenders.
He said the amendment was the outcome of extensive deliberations by mental health advocates, the Ministry of Justice, the Attorney-General’s Office, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, a task force and the National Assembly.
Pate said the aim is to shift away from criminalization and toward treatment and support, and that the reform is expected to help reduce both completed suicides and suicide attempts.
By 2030 we want to cut it by 15%,” the minister said.
Pate said the reform would also assist Nigeria in dealing with the larger burden of mental ill-health in the country.
The Federal Executive Council also approved the National Center for Oral Health Establishment Bill 2026 for the National Assembly.
“The proposed center will serve as a national referral and research institution for oral health services and also put in place a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for the management of oral diseases and other oral health-related conditions in Nigeria,” Pate said.
He said that the initiative was based on the 1982 International Congress of Oral Health Research, held in Lagos, which recommended the establishment of an inter-country demonstration, training and research center for the African region.
He said the Ministry of Health had set up a center but it lacked the legal framework to support it.
The proposed legislation is expected to provide the legal framework and strengthen Nigeria’s institutional capacity in oral health.
Pate said the development would fill a major gap in the country’s health infrastructure, saying Nigeria already had specialized institutions in fields like teaching hospitals, federal medical centers, orthopedic care, eye care, ear, nose and throat services and snake-bite treatment.
The Council also approved several contracts for major infrastructure upgrades at the National Hospital, Abuja.
Pate said the hospital was established about 25 to 26 years ago with a vision of being a quaternary healthcare center but had not been getting the necessary infrastructure and equipment upgrades over the years.
The approvals were in line with the instruction of President Bola Tinubu to transform the country through infrastructure upgrades and better equipment in the health sector,” he said.
Approved contracts include the refitting of the administrative and management block of the National Hospital, awarded to Visible Construction Limited at the cost of N18,740,038.
Modular clinics and a theater complex construction was awarded to Strabbing Construction Limited for N64,917,827,000.
The project will provide modular clinics for different specialties and theaters, Pate said.
CBC Global Civil Construction Limited has been awarded another contract for a high-end wing at the National Hospital for N103 billion. The completion period is 24 months.
The Council also approved the building of a Neuroscience Institute at the National Hospital for CBC Global Civil and Building Construction Limited for N69 billion.
The neuroscience facility will offer dedicated infrastructure for neurosurgery, radiology, intervention and rehabilitation services, Pate said.
He said that such specialized infrastructure was particularly important for patients with conditions including stroke, brain tumors and other diseases affecting the brain and nervous system.
The scale of the approvals reflected the need for Nigeria to make significant investments in healthcare infrastructure, the minister said.
“Good quality healthcare is not inexpensive. “We need to have the healthcare system we need in Nigeria and that means investing in the healthcare system,” he said.
Pate said the cumulative investment approved for the National Hospital under the present administration was more than what was invested in the institution over the past 27 years.
The Federal Executive Council equally approved a major project for the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT).
The project involves design, construction, furnishing, equipment, supervision and commissioning of a National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment Center.
The contract was awarded to CBC Global Civil and Building Construction Nigeria Limited for N302,304,243,000, and is to be completed in 36 months.
The project was part of the Federal Government’s broader effort to strengthen the country’s cancer research and treatment infrastructure, Pate said.
He said that President Tinubu had earlier approved the upgrade of cancer centers and equipment, noting that the ones in Katsina, Benin and Enugu had been completed and inaugurated.
The minister said the new center at NICRAT would be a flagship institution for cancer research, treatment, innovation and capacity building.
Appropriations had already been provided for NICRAT in the 2025 and 2026 budgets, said Pate.
He also said the contracts for the National Hospital and NICRAT were funded from resources appropriated by the legislature to the relevant agencies and entities and not in the Federal Ministry of Health.
He stated that the agencies followed due process and obtained clearances through competitive procurement processes involving the Bureau of Public Procurement.
He said the contractors selected were assessed on their capacity to implement specialized hospital and health infrastructure projects within the stipulated timeframes.
Pate said the procurement processes and relevant matrices were open for scrutiny and had been reviewed by the Federal Executive Council without objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement.
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The minister said the scale of approvals for health infrastructure was unprecedented, adding that Nigeria had not invested enough in health infrastructure in the past.
He stated that the poor condition of many healthcare facilities in the country showed the need for more investment in the sector.
Pate said while Nigeria routinely makes major investments in road infrastructure because of its importance to economic growth, the country had not traditionally made similar investments in healthcare.
“We are starting to change that and thanks to Mr President, His Excellency,” he said.
“As the Nigerian economy and government revenue grow, more resources would inevitably need to be devoted to healthcare,” he added.
Pate said the poor revenue had caused health infrastructure to be neglected at the federal and state levels, resulting in poor infrastructure and inadequate equipment in many primary healthcare centers and general hospitals.
He said the government was now moving to correct those deficiencies.
“Our mission is to ensure that they are executed and that Nigerians can see a transformation of the National Hospital and a befitting cancer center here at NICRAT,” he said.
The minister also said the investments are expected to reduce the need for Nigerians to travel long distances to access specialized healthcare and help reduce medical tourism.
