Nigeria’s diagnostic landscape is undergoing a quiet transformation.
Not long ago, accessing reliable tests outside a handful of major teaching hospitals meant long domestic travel or costly trips abroad for advanced scans, for those who could afford them.
Infrastructure was a major constraint.
Much of the available equipment was outdated, poorly maintained, or frequently out of service. Advanced imaging technology was scarce, and where it existed, demand often overwhelmed supply.
That picture is changing, according to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the Nigerian clinical laboratory services market is projected to grow from about $641 million in 2025 to $670.8 million dollars in 2026, and is forecast to reach $841.92 million by 2031, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 4.65% between 2026 and 2031.
That expansion did not happen on its own. Behind the sector’s steady growth are a group of chief executives and founders who have quietly redefined what diagnostic care looks like in Nigeria.
Here are the CEO’s of Nigeria’s major diagnostic centres
Dr. Olusola Akinniyi is a Consultant Gynaecologist with more than 25 years of medical experience. He has led Union Diagnostic and Clinical Services as MD/CEO since 2016.
Akinniyi won the prize for overall best candidate in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in West Africa in the West Africa College of Surgeons examinations in 2006. He was also part of a four-person research team that won the International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics prize for best clinical research from a developing country in 2005.
He is a member of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management.
Union Diagnostic and Clinical Services centres provide pathology services including microbiology, chemical pathology, haematology, parasitology, virology, mycology, immunoassay, molecular lab and DNA testing, cytology, and histology. Imaging and radiology services include ultrasound, X-ray, mammography, CT scan, and MRI, while physiology services cover ECG, EEG, audiometry, and spirometry.
They also offer endoscopic procedures such as gastroscopy, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, proctoscopy, bronchoscopy, laparoscopy, dye tests, and cystoscopy.
The company has multiple locations across Nigeria, including Lagos (Tejuosho, Victoria Island, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Ajegunle, Ikotun, Agege), Ibadan, Makurdi, Minna, Akure, Abeokuta, Osogbo, Benin, Port Harcourt, Jos, Ilorin, and Kano.
