Peter Obi has donated N20 million to the Godfrey Okoye University Teaching Hospital, Enugu, for its ongoing project.
Mr Obi said he supported nursing schools because Nigeria needed more than 1.2 million nurses to address the profession shortage in the country’s hospitals.
Presenting the cheque on Tuesday at the hospital premises in Enugu, Obi said the world would have more than 30 million shortages of nurses by the year 2030 if more attention was not given to the sector.
He urged the nursing students to be serious with their studies, emphasising that the country would need their services more.
“Already Nigeria needs about 1.2 million nurses as they do not have enough registered nurses and therefore, you are on the right call and should take it seriously as it is something that the world needs.
“We need to have you in our community hospitals which are not working today because of shortage of manpower,” Mr Obi said.
He added, “A report from the World Bank this month showed that poverty is worsening in Nigeria and UNICEF report showed that Nigeria is one of the countries with more malnourished children and overtaken by India in infant mortality.”
He said this occurred because leaders abandoned governance for something else instead of using the country’s resources to do the right thing.
“Every month I have to support an institution like this, I thank GOUNI for what they are doing and be rest assured that my visit today is not the last but the beginning.
“I will continue to thank the voluntary agencies especially the church for the wonderful work they are doing. Let me assure you that I will be a supporter of this project.
“What I am doing now is not politics but to move the country forward and make it work,” Mr Obi explained.