A review of Bayelsa State’s 2025 third-quarter budget performance document has revealed a stark disparity in the government’s health-related spending. Between January and September 2025, the state government spent N401 million on overseas medical expenses, while allocating only N5.5 million to capital projects at the state-owned Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH).

This pattern reflects similar spending trends from previous years. In the same nine-month period in 2024, the state spent N306 million on international medical trips but allocated N71 million for capital expenditure at the teaching hospital.
For the 2024 fiscal year, Bayelsa had budgeted N780 million for NDUTH capital projects—an amount that was never fully matched in actual spending.

Bayelsa State also recorded high international medical expenses in earlier years. In 2023, the state reportedly spent N872.8 million on medical trips abroad, despite growing nationwide criticism of medical tourism by public officials.

The continued spending on foreign medical treatment comes amid renewed calls for fiscal discipline and investment in local healthcare. Stakeholders have long argued that redirecting these funds to state-owned medical institutions would significantly improve healthcare delivery.

At the federal level, efforts to curb medical tourism have also surfaced. In February 2022, the House of Representatives passed for second reading a bill seeking to amend the National Health Act 2014.
The proposed amendment prescribes a N500 million fine or seven-year prison term, or both, for public officials who use public funds for overseas medical treatment in violation of the Act.

Lawmakers backing the amendment stated that the aim is to compel public officeholders to “pay more attention to our healthcare sector and take drastic steps to develop and improve on the sector.”