Yobe State’s Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information, and Culture, Hon. Abdullahi Bego
Yobe State’s Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information, and Culture, Hon. Abdullahi Bego, has said the state government’s decision to provide free dialysis and other medical treatments is a direct response to the alarming rise in kidney disease cases across several northern communities.
Bego, speaking during a media briefing at the close of the 2025 Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) Quarterly Strategy Meeting in Maiduguri, pointed out that towns like Jakusko, Nguru, Gashua, Yusufari, and others have reported high incidences of kidney-related illnesses—most of them linked to the Yobe/Kumadugu river belt.
“Yobe State has many cases of kidney disease, as most of the communities on the shores of Yobe/Kumadugu River in the northern part of the state suffered most,” he said.
In response, Governor Mai Mala Buni rolled out a free treatment programme, particularly for patients undergoing dialysis. The initiative is part of a broader healthcare intervention aimed at saving lives and relieving financial burdens on families.
Over 600 patients are currently receiving free monthly dialysis sessions at the Yobe State University Teaching Hospital (YSUTH), Bego revealed. The hospital itself was established during former Governor Ibrahim Gaidam’s tenure and has since been expanded under Buni’s administration.
But the state government isn’t stopping at treatment alone.
Bego explained that Yobe is investing heavily in research to understand and address the root causes of the health crisis.
“To address the root cause of the incident,” he said, “the Yobe State Government has established a Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre at the College of Medical Science, Yobe State University.”
The center—equipped with facilities worth billions of naira—is working in collaboration with the University of Sussex in the UK and researchers such as Dr. Mahmoud Bukar Maina, a British-Nigerian neuroscientist whose work focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and related molecular pathologies.
Governor Buni had earlier declared a State of Emergency in the health sector. As part of this commitment, the state commissioned the Mamman Ali Maternal and Child Complex—a 400-bed, state-of-the-art facility located within YSUTH. Commissioned by the late President Muhammadu Buhari, the hospital serves as both a referral center and a hub for maternal health research in the North East.
Turning to infrastructure, Bego highlighted the administration’s extensive road and drainage projects designed to open up both rural and urban areas. He pointed to the ongoing construction of a multi-billion-naira flyover in Damaturu and the rehabilitation of strategic roads like Katarko-Goniri and Siminti-Godowoli.
“Other key road interventions include Geidam-Bukarti, Bayamari-Yunusari, Yunusari-Kanamma, and the Damaturu-Kalallawa 25.5km dual carriageway,” Bego said.
“These roads improve access to critical hubs like the Muhammadu Buhari International Cargo Airport and help ease heavy traffic on major routes like the Abattoir Junction-New Bye-pass Roundabout on Potiskum Road.”
Additional road links are being constructed across communities such as Damagum-Gubana, Bulanguwa-Kumagannam, Nguru-Bulanguwa, and others.
The Commissioner also shed light on the state’s N3.5 billion investment in agribusiness, noting that Yobe remains Nigeria’s top producer of sesame seeds. To leverage this, the government has built four ultra-modern sesame processing factories in Machina, Potiskum, Nguru, and Damaturu.
“These facilities are designed for cleansing, processing, and packaging sesame seeds for both domestic and export markets,” he said.
