Presidency debunks report on State House clinic
By; Sunday Ode, Abuja.
The Presidency has said the federal government plans to spend over N200 billion on health institutions in the country this year, with federal teaching hospitals to gulp over 50 percent of that budgetary provision.
It therefore dismissed a media report suggesting that the about N3.8 billion earmarked for the State House clinic is more than the budgetary allocation to all the federal government teaching hospitals as a bare face lie.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu in a reaction to the story said the huge budgetary provision to tertiary health institutions in the country should be seen in the light of government’s effort to discourage medical tourism abroad that had been taking a large chunk of the nation’s foreign exchange.
His words: “We react to the story: “2016 Budget: Buhari to spend more on State House Clinic than on all federal govt-owned teaching hospitals.
“This report is not simply off the mark but one that is insensitive to the government’s effort to improve medical facilities at home in Nigeria.
“According to the draft 2016 budget presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, the budget for the State House Clinic is N3.8b.
“Contrary to the published newspaper report, the total for health institutions as given by the Director-General, Budget Office is more than N200 billion. The 17 teaching hospitals have more than 50 percent of that allocation. Anyone interested can check out the detailed allocations to the teaching hospitals, the Federal Medical Centers and the specialist hospitals owned by the federal government.
“It is also important to explain that the State House Clinic is not the President, or anyone’s personal clinic but one which looks after government officials and many others who are not.
“The increased spending on government health institutions in the current budget should be seen in the light of the administration’s plan to improve medical facilities at home as a way of discouraging overseas trips in search of treatment by citizens which eat away from our foreign exchange.”
