Presidency laments poor funding of State House Clinic

The Presidency has lamented the poor funding of the State House Clinic as it reveals that the hospital infrastructure has become obsolete. 

The State House permanent secretary Umar Tijjani disclosed this when the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs visited the site for a Presidential Wing of the State House Clinic within the precinct of Aso Villa. 

“I would like to say that the State House needs quite a formidable level of support and improvement in the funding. We are dealing with phasing out a lot of infrastructures that have come to the end of their lifespan,” said the official. “We have the issue of our ICT infrastructure. We have the issue of our equipment in the Conference Centre here, kitchen equipment. We have the issue of telecommunications and operational and utility vehicles that are gradually coming to the tail end of their lives, and we need to replace them.” 

When completed, Mr Tijjani told the committee that the wing of the clinic would serve the public but would particularly cater to the medical needs of the president, vice president, their relatives, and other government officials. 

President Muhammadu Buhari has often frequented the UK for medical treatment. He is currently on a medical trip to London. His wife, Aisha Buhari, had publicly condemned the hospital’s deplorable state in the past. 

Mr Tijjani lamented the non-release of budgetary allocation to the State House in full was responsible for the clinic’s poor facilities, disclosing that out of N8.699 billion budgeted for State House in the 2018 fiscal year, N5.083 billion (58 per cent) was released. 

He also told the committee that in 2019, out of N6.955 billion budgeted, N2 billion was released. But in 2020, the N4.878 billion appropriated was released. 

On Friday, labour minister Chris Ngige said Nigerians did not need to go on medical trips amid an indefinite nationwide strike by resident doctors.