The Nigerian government is proposing to spend more on capital
projects at the State House Medical Centre this year than it would
provide for the 16 teaching hospitals belonging to it.
If the proposed budget is approved as presented to federal lawmakers,
the State House Clinic will get N787million more in capital allocation
than all the 16 teaching hospitals combined.
The State House Medical Centre is a facility that provides healthcare
for President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, their
families and other employees of the Presidency, all possibly less than a
thousand.
Federal teaching hospitals cater for the heath needs of millions of
Nigerians, train medical doctors and other health professionals for the
nation while also serving as top medical research centres.
A breakdown of the 2016 Appropriation Bill shows that a total of
N3.87billion has been allocated for capital projects at the State House
Clinic.
In contrast, the country’s 16 federal government-owned teaching
hospitals individually only got a fraction of the allocation made for
the presidential clinic.
According to the proposed budget, N212,539,245 has been allocated for
capital projects at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital in Lagos,
one of the country’s most populous states, while the capital allocation
for the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, is
N230,904,795.
Similarly, the capital allocation for the University College
Hospital, Ibadan, is N230,904,795; University of Nigeria Teaching
Hospital, Enugu (N218,335,908); University of Benin Teaching Hospital
(N212,886,502); Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital, Ile Ife
(N162,622,221); University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (N166,802,164);
University of Jos Teaching Hospital (N228,717,880); and University of
Port Harcourt (N169,498,392).
The capital allocation for other hospitals are: University of Calabar
Teaching Hospital (N201,082,446); University of Maiduguri Teaching
Hospital (N215,151,873); Usman Dan Fodio University Teaching hospital,
Sokoto (N279,000,000); Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital
(N210,380,376); Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi
(N166,188,931); University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (N198,715,702);
and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (N229,005,992).
Health industry experts consider the annual huge capital allocation
to the State House Medical Centre as “outrageous and baffling”.
“It is unbelievable to see that Buhari is continuing in the tradition
of pampering the State House Clinic every year with outrageous capital
allocations while teaching hospitals that cater for several millions of
people are allowed to rot,” an official at the National Hospital, Abuja,
told PREMIUM TIMES. He requested not to be named for fear he might be
victimised by the administration.
By virtue of the huge allocation to the State House Medical Centre
President Buhari, Vice President Osinbajo, their families and their
staff at Aso Rock are assured of state-of-the-art medical care.
However, millions of Nigerians, many of them poor voters, who bought
into the president’s message of change, are to continue to make do with
decrepit facilities in under-funded teaching hospitals and other
government-owned health facilities across the country.
Checks by PREMIUM TIMES indicates that this year’s huge budgetary
allocation for the State House Medical Centre is a continuation of what
appears a tradition of over-equipping the clinic at the detriment of
other health facilities in the country.
A 2009 report by the rested NEXT newspaper revealed that the State
House clinic had 17 ambulances, the highest by any hospital in the
country at the time.
According to the report, in 2008, 10 new state-of-the-art ambulances
were brought from North Carolina in the United States, parked inside the
presidential villa and left unused.
At the time the ambulances were left to rot away in Aso Rock, the
National Hospital, Abuja, believed to be one of the topmost hospitals in
the country, had only nine ambulances while the General Hospital in
Nyanya, a decaying facility on the outskirts of Abuja, that served more
than 300,000 people, had just a jalopy 504 Station Wagon (CT 89-A10) as
its only ambulance.
Last November, a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) revealed
that there were only two functional radiotherapy machines, an essential
equipment for the treatment of cancer, in the country, one of which
belonged to a private hospital.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 100,000
Nigerians are diagnosed with cancer annually, and about 80,000 die from
the disease yearly.
The decrepit state of health facilities in the country, apart from
the consequent losses of lives, has also caused huge economic loss to
the country. Nigerians who can afford it spend billions of naira
annually in the United States, Europe, India and other places in search
of better healthcare.
Adewunmi Alayaki, Secretary General of the Nigerian Medical
Association, said government should consider redistributing the
allocation so that health facilities used by ordinary Nigerians can get
better financial allocation.
“The lopsidedness in the distribution of allocations is keyed towards
the State House health needs and the rest of the country are now
sharing less funds than what is allocated to one health facility,” Mr.
Alayaki told PREMIUM TIMES via telephone.
“I think government should look into that and correct it. Ordinary
Nigerians do not have access to that facility (State House Medical
Centre) so they should redistribute and invest more in areas where
ordinary Nigerians have access to.”
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, could
not be reached to comment for this story. He is said to be on his way to
France with President Buhari.
The Minister of State in the ministry, Zainab Ahmed, could also not
be reached. Multiple calls to her telephone failed to connect.
The appeal court had said the tribunal was wrong in its refusal to comply with section 179 (2) of the Constitution.
