Adamawa Approves ₦1.63 Billion for CT Scan Facility in Michika

According to a report published by People’s Daily on October 16, 2026, the approval forms part of a larger package of contracts worth more than ₦5.6 billion approved by the Adamawa State Executive Council, covering projects in healthcare, education, environmental sanitation, housing and airport infrastructure. The council approved ₦295.7 million for the construction of the CT scan block and approximately ₦1.34 billion for the procurement of the imaging machine itself.

The Adamawa CT scan approval for Michika is significant because it addresses a longstanding gap in diagnostic services in the northern part of the state. Michika is the headquarters of Michika Local Government AreaA Local Government Area, the third tier of government in Nigeria. There are 774., located in the mountainous northern zone of Adamawa bordering Borno State and the Mandara Hills region that extends into Cameroon. The town serves as a local administrative and commercial centre for communities across a large and challenging terrain.

Until now, patients in Michika and surrounding communities requiring CT imaging have typically had to travel to Yola, the state capital, for such investigations — a journey that can take several hours and involves significant cost. For patients with acute conditions such as head injuries, suspected stroke, chest conditions or abdominal emergencies, delays caused by the need to travel to a city for imaging can affect clinical outcomes. A working CT scanner at General Hospital Michika means that these patients can receive imaging more quickly and at lower cost.

Computed tomography uses X-ray beams taken from multiple angles around the body, processed by computer software to produce detailed cross-sectional images of internal structures. The “32-slice” specification refers to the number of detector rows in the machine, with more slices enabling faster scanning, thinner image slices and better image resolution for certain applications.

A 32-slice CT scanner is well suited to a wide range of clinical investigations that are relevant in a busy district general hospital setting. It can image the brain to detect strokes, haemorrhages and tumours. It can assess the chest to evaluate lung conditions including pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, tuberculosis and lung cancer. It can image the abdomen and pelvis to investigate liver, kidney, bowel and bladder conditions. It can assess bone fractures and spinal injuries. And it can evaluate blood vessels to detect narrowing, aneurysms or other vascular abnormalities.

In a region like northern Adamawa, which has experienced significant conflict and displacement in recent years and where road accident injuries, infectious diseases and non-communicable conditions all present regularly at healthcare facilities, the clinical utility of a CT scanner is high. Healthcare workers in Michika managing patients with complex or unclear presentations will gain access to a diagnostic tool that can provide definitive answers quickly.

Michika Local Government Area sits in a historically complex security zone. The communities in northern Adamawa and neighbouring Borno State were among those most affected by Boko Haram’s expansion into the Mandara Mountains area between 2014 and 2016, when numerous towns and villages were attacked, occupied or abandoned. Healthcare facilities in the area were disrupted or damaged during this period, and rebuilding health services has been a slow process.

Access to specialist and tertiary healthcare remains limited for communities in this part of the state. General hospitals at the local level typically provide primary and secondary care — routine outpatient services, surgery for common conditions, maternal and child health services and management of common illnesses. The availability of CT imaging at General Hospital Michika would move the facility’s diagnostic capabilities into a range more commonly associated with state-level tertiary hospitals, reducing the need for referrals for the specific conditions that CT scanning can diagnose.

The Michika CT scan allocation is the largest single healthcare item in the Adamawa State Executive Council’s broader approval package. The full package, worth more than ₦5.6 billion, covers projects across multiple sectors, reflecting the Adamawa State Government’s approach to using executive council approvals to simultaneously advance capital works in several areas of public service delivery.

The inclusion of airport infrastructure in the same package is notable. The Yola International Airport serves as Adamawa State’s primary air link and its rehabilitation or upgrade has implications for business, emergency medical evacuation and government operations. Education, environmental sanitation and housing projects also feature in the approvals, indicating a broad development agenda that prioritises both economic infrastructure and social services.

An executive council approval authorises the allocation and commencement of procurement and construction processes — it is the starting point, not the end point. For the Michika project, several steps remain before patients can benefit from the investment. The construction of the CT scan block must be tendered, contracted, constructed, inspected and completed to a standard that can safely house sensitive medical imaging equipment. The machine must be ordered, manufactured or supplied, transported, installed, tested and commissioned.

Medical imaging equipment requires specialised installation, including appropriate electrical supply, radiation shielding and cooling infrastructure. Commissioning a CT scanner also requires the calibration of the machine and training of the staff who will operate it. Ongoing maintenance contracts are essential for keeping the equipment operational — CT scanners that fall into disrepair due to the absence of maintenance support become costly white elephants rather than clinical assets.

Staffing is among the most critical questions. A CT scanner without a trained radiographer to operate it and a radiologist to interpret its images does not provide clinical value. The Nigerian health system has faced persistent shortages of specialist medical personnel, and states in the northeast are not exempt from this challenge. The Adamawa State Government’s plans for recruiting, training and retaining the staff needed to run the Michika facility will be as important to its long-term usefulness as the capital investment itself.

The ₦1.63 billion committed to the Michika CT scan facility is a substantial investment by the standards of state-level healthcare capital spending in Nigeria’s northeast. It reflects the Adamawa State Government’s recognition that improving diagnostic capacity at secondary hospitals in underserved areas of the state can contribute meaningfully to health outcomes.

For communities in northern Adamawa that have faced years of conflict-related disruption to healthcare services and continue to bear a disproportionate burden of disease, injury and displacement-related health problems, the construction and equipping of this facility is a meaningful step. The true measure of the investment will come when the doors of the CT scan unit open to patients, and when the quality and accessibility of diagnostic services at General Hospital Michika begins to change clinical outcomes for the people of Michika and its surrounding communities.

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Recommend Story 0 Share: About the author Vangawa Bolgent Editor-in-Chief Abuja, Nigeria

Vangawa Bolgent Editor-in-Chief & Journalist | The Gazette News Nigeria Vangawa Bolgent is a Nigerian journalist, editor, and human-centred storyteller with more than a decade… Read full bio →

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