The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has commissioned a world-class fertility centre and a maternity complex with more than 40 labour rooms at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Borno State.
The facilities were commissioned on Tuesday by the Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, who described the fertility centre as one of the best-equipped in the world.
Speaking after the commissioning in Maiduguri, Ahmadu said the project was part of the Federal Government’s continued investment in critical sectors through its agencies.
He said the fertility centre was one of NEDC’s major interventions in the health sector, adding that the facility would reduce the need for residents to travel outside the region for specialised medical treatment.
“What we just witnessed is the commissioning of a world-class fertility centre. Equipment in this building is the best you can find anywhere in the world,” he said.
The minister urged citizens to support government efforts to improve infrastructure and public services, saying the facilities would help address critical healthcare needs within the region.
Also speaking, Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, said the NEDC-built fertility centre would provide reproductive health services to families unable to conceive naturally.
Zulum commended the Commission for the project, saying it would help reduce medical tourism.
“We have seen a centre that is well built and well equipped with billions of naira. This will go a long way in reducing medical tourism. On behalf of the good people of Borno State, I want to commend the NEDC for a job well done,” he said.
The governor noted that the fertility centre was not NEDC’s only intervention at UMTH, adding that the Commission had built other facilities and supplied medical equipment to tertiary health institutions across the North-East.
He said NEDC recently procured modern MRI and CT scan machines for tertiary health facilities across the region at a cost of N70 billion.
Zulum assured the Commission of continued support from governors in the North-East, saying its interventions would have a lasting positive impact on the region.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NEDC, Mohammed Goni Alkali, said the fertility centre was one of the few specialised fertility facilities available in a public health institution in the North-East.
Alkali said the centre was completed in May 2026 to address gaps in access to reproductive healthcare services.
According to him, families in the region previously travelled to Lagos, Abuja or other countries to access fertility treatment, often at significant financial cost, while others could not afford the journey.
He said NEDC had fully constructed the centre and equipped it with modern medical technology, including solar power to ensure uninterrupted service delivery.
The facility has surgical and diagnostic equipment worth billions of naira, including an intracytoplasmic sperm injection machine, incubators, oxygen concentrators, sperm centrifuges and other laboratory equipment.
Alkali said the Commission also provided furniture, support infrastructure and fully equipped delivery suites, wards and offices.
He added that pioneer health workers from UMTH had undergone specialised training funded by NEDC to ensure they had the skills required to operate the equipment and provide quality services.
The Commission said the intervention was designed to strengthen reproductive healthcare delivery, reduce medical tourism and improve access to specialised medical services for residents of the North-East.
