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Perm Sec says N1.3 billion earmarked for Aso Rock clinic inadequate
By Emmanuel Awosika
The Permanent Secretary of the Presidential State House, Tijani Umar, has said the N1.3 billion allocated to the Villa clinic is inadequate.
He said this while fielding questions from journalists after defending his office’s 2021 budgetary estimate before members of the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs State on Thursday.
He stated that “The N1.3bn is absolutely inadequate when you juxtapose the amount proposed, the labour, and the status of the principals that the project is going to serve.
“When compared with worldwide standards, you’ll see that it is not anything near what we need.
“It (the clinic), is considered a legacy project for us because we want to leave something down.
“We have realigned some many things and one of the fundamental challenges we have dealt with is the sustainable supply of drugs and consumables.”
The Senate panel had earlier urged State House officials against flying the President abroad for medical treatment by making the State House clinic functional.
Chairman of the panel, Senator Danjuma La’ah, said the committee would approve the budget of N19.7 billion presented by the State House officials but warned against flying the President and other government officials abroad for treatment.
“Our President is not a man to be taken out anytime or whenever anything happens to him on sickness matter,” he said.
