Mirian Gom 
ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s continued failure to implement its Mental Health Act is discouraging foreign donors and crippling psychiatric care nationwide, a leading mental health official warns.
Provost and Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Professor Afis Agboola, raises the alarm on Saturday during the 2025 budget performance and 2026 budget defence session at the House of Representatives.
“We have a law, but there is no execution,” Agboola says. “Donors require accountability frameworks before committing funds, and Nigeria currently lacks that.”
He reveals the hospital spends nearly ₦1 billion from internally generated revenue caring for abandoned patients, calling the burden unsustainable. According to him, the absence of operational funding and coordination structures undermines care delivery and deters international partners.
“The Act clearly defines responsibilities across federal, state and local governments, but nothing is happening,” he adds.
Agboola confirms that psychiatric hospitals record zero execution of their 2025 capital budgets, forcing facilities to cut non-regular staff, including consultants, due to unpaid salaries.
Nigeria’s Mental Health Act, signed into law in January 2023, replaces the colonial-era Lunacy Act of 1958 and promises a Mental Health Fund, community-based care and safeguards against abuse. More than two years later, its key provisions remain dormant.
House Committee Chairman Alex Egbona acknowledges funding delays but assures lawmakers that at least 30 per cent of the 2025 capital allocation will be released before the end of February 2026.
Mental health experts warn that continued inaction worsens patient abandonment and weakens Nigeria’s credibility with global health partners.
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Edino Chubiyo Cornelius