The Federal Government has backed a proposed amendment to the National Mental Health Act to eliminate criminal penalties for attempted suicide and to encourage a care-based approach for those affected.
The amendment will be sent to the National Assembly for legislative consideration. The proposed changes are aimed at replacing punitive measures with treatment, protection and appropriate support.
He revealed this while briefing State House correspondents on the resolutions reached at the Federal Executive Council meeting.
Pate said the review was necessary because attempted suicide was still an offense under colonial-era provisions of the Criminal Code Act and Penal Code while the National Mental Health Act provided for care and protection for persons at risk of self-harm.
He said those with mental health challenges who attempt suicide can still be arrested and prosecuted under existing law.
“The concept here is that attempted suicide is not a crime,” Pate said. He stressed that those who commit suicide because of mental illness should be viewed as people who need care and support, not as criminals.
The amendment was the outcome of long discussions with 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, he said.
The goal of the reform, Pate said, is to move away from criminalization and toward treatment and support. She anticipates the reform will help decrease the number of both completed suicides and suicide attempts.
“We want to reduce it by 15% by 2030,” the minister said.
Pate said the reform would also help Nigeria confront the larger burden of mental ill-health in the country.
The Federal Executive Council also forwarded the National Center for Oral Health Establishment Bill 2026 to the National Assembly.
“The proposed center will serve as a national referral and research institution for oral health services and develop a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for the management of oral diseases and other oral health-related conditions in Nigeria.
He said the initiative was based on a 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.
“The Ministry of Health has set up a center but it lacks a legal framework to back it up,” he said.
The bill was expected to provide the legal basis and strengthen the institutional capacity of Nigeria in the area of oral health.
Pate said the development would fill a major gap in the country’s health infrastructure, adding that the country already had specialized institutions in areas like teaching hospitals, federal medical centers, orthopedic, eye care, ear, nose and throat and snake-bite treatment.
The Council also approved contracts for some major infrastructure upgrade at the National Hospital, Abuja.
“The hospital was established about 25 to 26 years ago with the ultimate vision of being a quaternary health care center. However, over the years, the hospital had not been getting the requisite infrastructure and equipment upgrades,” said Pate.
He said, “The approvals are in line with the directive of President Bola Tinubu to transform the country through infrastructure upgrade and better equipment in the health sector.”
The approved contracts included the refitting of the administrative and management block of the National Hospital awarded to Visible Construction Limited at the cost of N18, 740, 038.
Strabbing Construction Limited received N64,917,827,000 for the construction of modular clinics and a theater complex.
Pate said the project will have modular clinics for different specialties and theaters.
CBC Global Civil Construction Limited has scooped another contract of N103 billion for the construction of a high-end wing at the National Hospital with a completion period of 24 months.
The Council also approved the construction of a Neuroscience Institute at the National Hospital by CBC Global Civil and Building Construction Limited for N69 billion.
Pate said the neuroscience facility will provide specific infrastructure for neurosurgical, radiological, interventional and rehabilitation services.
Such specialized infrastructure was especially important to patients with conditions such as stroke, brain tumors and other diseases of the brain and nervous system, he said.
The size of the approvals reflected the need for Nigeria to invest heavily in healthcare infrastructure, she said.
“Good quality health care costs money. “Nigeria has to invest in the health care system to have the health care system we want,” he said.
The present administration’s total investment into the National Hospital was more than the investment into the institution in the past 27 years, Pate said.
The Federal Executive Council also approved a major project for the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT).
The project is for the 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 to be completed within 36 months.
The project was part of the Federal Government’s broader effort to improve the country’s infrastructure for cancer research and treatment, Pate said.
President Tinubu had earlier approved the upgrade of cancer centers and equipment with the facilities in Katsina, Benin and Enugu already completed and inaugurated, he said.
The minister said the new center at NICRAT would serve as a flagship institution for cancer research, treatment, innovation and capacity building.
NICRAT already has been included in the 2025 and 2026 budgets, Pate said.
The contracts for National Hospital and NICRAT, he said, were funded from resources appropriated by the legislature to the relevant agencies and entities and not found in Federal Ministry of Health.
He said the agencies followed due process and obtained clearances through competitive procurement procedures through the Bureau of Public Procurement.
“The selected contractors were evaluated on their capability to execute specialized hospital and health infrastructure projects within the specified timelines,” he said.
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He said that the processes of procurement and relevant matrices were being scrutinized and had been reviewed by the Federal Executive Council without objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement.
The minister said the level of approvals for health infrastructure was unprecedented and that Nigeria had not invested enough in health infrastructure in the past.
The poor condition of many health facilities in the country showed the need for more investment in the sector, he said.
“Traditionally we haven’t invested as much in health as we do in roads, although roads are a major contributor to economic growth,” Pate said.
He said: “We are beginning to change that and thanks to His Excellency Mr President.
He said that as the Nigerian economy and government revenue grew, inevitably more resources would have to be put into healthcare.
According to Pate, poor revenue had led to the neglect of health infrastructure at federal and state levels, which had resulted in poor infrastructure and inadequate equipment at many primary health centers and general hospitals.
The government was now on track to address those deficiencies, he said.
“The target is that these things are done and Nigerians can see a transformation of the National Hospital and a befitting cancer center here at NICRAT,” he said.
The minister said the investments are expected to reduce the need for Nigerians to travel long distances to access specialized health care and help to reduce medical tourism.
