By Onwe Wisdom|Pan Afric Reporters
Senator Garba Maidoki (Kebbi-South) has called for stronger legal and financial support to boost Nigeria’s response to sickle cell disease, insisting that the country must scale up existing infrastructure rather than start from scratch. He made the remarks during an interview with journalists at the sideline of a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Health ( secondary & tertiary) on several health-related bills held at National Assembly today 24 November, 2025.
Speaking on a proposed bill seeking to establish six regional sickle cell centres across the country, Maidoki commended the initiative but stressed the need to legally recognize government-run centres that already exist.
“Senator Marshall has proposed the setting of regional centres and we believe it is in the right direction,” he said. “But we also want to add that there are already existing ones that the government set up. They have fiat without enabling law. These should be added to the bill so that instead of the six proposed, there will now be 12 because six are already existing, equipped, and staffed.”
The lawmaker argued that even 12 centres would still fall short of addressing the magnitude of sickle cell challenges nationwide but described it as “a starting stone.” He expressed hope that a broader network of legally recognized centres would “considerably eliminate the problem of sickle cells in Nigeria.”
On funding concerns, Maidoki clarified that the cost implications primarily affect the newly proposed centres, as the existing ones already receive federal support. “On the six that already exist, government has been funding them and equipping them,” he explained. “So it’s the new ones that we are talking about in terms of funding.”
He also backed the Senate Committee’s renewed drive for higher budgetary allocation to the health sector. According to him, the committee chairman, Senator Ipalibo Banigo, has proposed raising health funding from 1% to 2%.
“We believe it is the right decision in the right direction,” he noted. “We are in support of that 100%, so that health is accessible to all Nigerians.”
The senator, who interacted warmly with journalists and supporters, emphasized his commitment to improving health services and preserving Nigeria’s medical history.
“One of the things we have is that we can’t remember our history,” he remarked in a lighter moment, underscoring the need for continuity and institutional memory.
Maidoki reaffirmed that the Senate is determined to strengthen laws that guarantee improved health outcomes for citizens, as debates on the bills continue in the National Assembly.
