The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has commissioned a state-of-the-art medical laboratory complex at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, as part of its commitment to enhancing access to quality healthcare across Nigeria.
The facility, which is the tenth to be delivered under NLNG’s flagship hospital support programme (HSP), was unveiled on Thursday. It comes shortly after the company opened a neonatal ward and intensive care unit at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba.
The new laboratory is equipped with advanced diagnostic tools including an Automated Tissue Processing Machine, Cryostat, Immunoassay Analyser, ELISA Washer, haematology systems, vein finders and specialised microscopes.
It also features dedicated workspaces for sample preparation and storage, solar-powered systems for uninterrupted operation, automated access controls, and modern reception and waiting areas designed for efficiency, safety and patient comfort.
Speaking at the commissioning, NLNG’s managing director and chief executive officer, Philip Mshelbila, represented by the company’s general manager, external relations and sustainable development, Sophia Horsfall, said the project reflected the firm’s vision of improving lives sustainably through healthcare infrastructure.
“The Hospital Support Programme offers Bauchi State a vital partnership and gives NLNG the opportunity to actualise its vision of improving lives sustainably,” Mshelbila said.
“This programme reinforces our belief in what is possible when private enterprise and public good align with purpose.”
He added that the new facility was a result of a detailed needs assessment and would significantly boost diagnostic capacity at the hospital, supporting both clinicians and patients in their quest for timely and accurate medical intervention.
Mshelbila also noted that through HSP, the company was building “a network of care across the country” and that the programme had already transformed healthcare services in beneficiary institutions, increasing medical practitioners’ confidence and raising public expectations for better healthcare delivery.
Chief medical director of ATBUTH, Professor Yusuf Bara Jibrin, described the laboratory as “a fortress of response, equipped with the tools, technologies, and manpower to detect, analyse, and inform timely medical interventions,” particularly in view of rising cases of Lassa fever, antibiotic resistance, and cancer.
He praised NLNG for exceeding the typical scope of corporate social responsibility and revealed that the hospital had put in place a maintenance and operations framework to ensure the long-term functionality of the laboratory.
The hospital support orogramme has now impacted ten health institutions across the country, delivering infrastructure for obstetrics, neonatal intensive care, occupational therapy, neuromodulation rehabilitation and more.
According to NLNG, the company remains committed to supporting Nigeria’s healthcare, education and infrastructure sectors alongside its core energy investments.
