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The increase in admission deposits for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) by the management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), from N500,000 to N1 million, has sparked reactions among residents in Edo State.
The Eastern Updates reports that the increase represents a 100 per cent hike in the cost of accessing critical care services at the hospital.
The office of the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), disclosed this in an internal memorandum dated January 30, 2026. The memo approved an upward review of ward consumables and admission deposits across the hospital.
Other new admission deposit increments include: N150,000 for medical wards, N200,000 for private wards, N100,000 for day-case admissions, N150,000 for orthopaedic wards, N200,000 for neuro wards and N150,000 for obstetrics and gynaecology wards
Ward consumables were also reviewed upward to N20,000 per week for patients in the Labour and Emergency Complex, while ordinary wards will now attract N15,000 per week.
The memo said the review became necessary in view of prevailing funding realities and the need to promote efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance the maintenance and procurement of medical consumables.
It added that under the revised structure, ICU admission will now require a deposit of N1 million, while the Labour Ward Complex deposit has been fixed at N200,000. According to the memo, the adjustments are aimed at ensuring sustainable hospital operations and improving service delivery.
Meanwhile, the development has sparked reactions among residents, many of whom took to social media to criticise the teaching hospital authorities.
In their responses, residents decried what they described as an astronomical increase in hospital charges and the reported privatisation of laboratory services at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit.
Reacting, the Head of the Public Relations and Information Unit of the hospital, Osaretin Iyen, said the private laboratory service engaged at the A&E unit was introduced to complement the hospital’s existing diagnostic services.
Iyen explained that the laboratory is intended to function alongside UBTH’s laboratories to augment capacity and efficiency, not to replace or supplant the hospital’s core laboratory services.
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He added that there are over ten functional laboratories across the hospital.
He further stated that the decision was taken strictly in the overriding interest of patient care and safety, particularly for critically ill patients whose survival depends on immediate and uninterrupted access to laboratory investigations.
“This is especially when there are challenges with the UBTH laboratory in the Accident and Emergency unit,” Iyen said.
Aliko Dangote, president of the Dangote Group, said plans are underway to add a major petrochemical plant to the company’s refinery complex, a move he believes could reposition Nigeria as a leading African supplier of a key industrial chemical used in detergent manufacturing.
Dangote disclosed the project on Saturday while addressing journalists during a visit to the facility by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari.
The proposed installation will produce linear alkylbenzene, or LAB, a core feedstock used in the manufacture of surfactants, the cleaning agents that form the active component in soaps and detergents.
According to Dangote, the plant is expected to be completed within approximately 30 months and will have a production capacity of about 400,000 tonnes annually. He said that output would significantly exceed existing production capacity across Africa and could supply manufacturers throughout the continent.
“And that raw material for detergent will be sufficient for the entire African continent. It’s 400,000 tonnes, which we don’t have,” Dangote said. He added that only two comparable facilities currently operate in Africa, producing roughly 100,000 tonnes in Algeria and about 50,000 tonnes in Egypt. “But we are going 400,000. And we will deliver all this in the next 30 months.”
The project will focus on industrial inputs rather than consumer goods. Linear alkylbenzene is used to produce surfactants that allow detergents to remove grease and dirt. Most detergent manufacturers in Africa rely heavily on imported chemical inputs, often sourced from Asia and Europe, which exposes producers to foreign exchange fluctuations and supply disruptions.
Read also: Dangote Predicts Naira Could Hit N1,100 Per Dollar In 2026
Dangote said the refinery complex is evolving beyond fuel refining into a wider industrial processing centre. “It’s an industrial hub. And that’s why we are doing a Linear Alkyl Benzene plant, which is a raw material for detergents,” he said, noting that the national oil company is expected to partner with the group in developing parts of the broader complex.
The refinery, located near Lagos, was originally designed to process crude oil into petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and other refined petroleum products for domestic consumption and export. Company officials now describe the facility as the anchor for an integrated industrial ecosystem that links refining with petrochemicals, fertiliser production and manufacturing supply chains. Industry observers say local production of LAB could reshape regional manufacturing patterns. Detergent and household product producers in West and Central Africa have long depended on imported feedstocks, making them vulnerable to shipping delays and currency pressures. A domestic source within the continent could shorten supply chains and reduce import bills for manufacturers.
The project also aligns with Nigeria’s broader economic strategy of reducing dependence on imported finished and intermediate goods. By producing chemical feedstocks locally, authorities hope to stimulate downstream industries such as packaging, plastics, cleaning products and other consumer goods manufacturing.
Dangote’s expansion into petrochemicals builds on the group’s existing industrial portfolio, which includes large scale operations in cement production, fertiliser manufacturing, agriculture, food processing, logistics and packaging. The company has increasingly linked these businesses, using outputs from one sector as inputs for another to create integrated supply networks.
