Kaduna South Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee that oversees the activities of the Presidency, Danjuma La’ah, has sent State House officials who came to defend their budget a message to President Muhammadu Buhari: fix the State House Clinic so he doesn’t make foreign trips for medical treatment.
La’ah spoke on Thursday when the State House Permanent Secretary, Tijani Umar, appeared before the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs to defend the State House’s N19.7 billion 2021 budget defence.
Of the amount N1.3 bullion was set aside for State House Clinic. The clinic was set up to meet the medical needs of the President and other officials, and their families.
Over the years, the clinic has remained understaffed, under-equipped with state of the art equipment, and, as it happened last year that led to a public outcry by none other than First Lady Aisha Buhari, understocked with basic drugs.
Within the last four years, the President has taken trips outside the country on account of his health, at a time three years ago spending over a hundred days, and handing over the reins of power to his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
The Kaduna Senator was of the opinion that if the President and other top officials in the Aso Villa patronised the clinic rather than travel abroad, it would be more functional.
He added, “Our president is not a man to be taken out anytime or anything that happens to him on sickness matter. He must attend our clinic here and we must make sure that we equip our hospital to the best of our ability so that any emergency will be first taken care of here before flying out if the need arises.
“It is already approved, N1.3 billion for State House Clinic. I want this thing done and I want the credit to go to the whole committee – leave a legacy for the State House, that the clinic we requested was done within the shortest time.”
The Permanent Secretary was to later brief journalists.His words, “Today we had the privilege of appearing before this senate committee. It is not correct to say the state house clinic is in comatose. It is not. We have realigned some many things and one of the fundamental challenges we have dealt with is the sustainable supply of drugs and consumables. Don’t forget that this is derived from the budget.
“We have appealed to the committee to assist us with the presidential wing of the state house clinic.
“The N1.3 billion is absolutely inadequate when you juxtapose the amount proposed and the labour – the status of the principals that that project is going to serve and you compare with worldwide standards you see that it is not anything near what we need.”