TheCable

Isaac Adewole, minister of health, has disowned the 2016 budget allocation for his ministry, saying his ministry did not submit what was presented before the national assembly.

Adewole also added that the state house clinic, which was allocated more money than all federal hospitals, is not under the supervision of the health ministry.

Defending the budget of the ministry at the committee level of the senate on Monday, Adewole said N15.7 billion allocated for capital projects had been removed and reallocated to other areas.

“In the revised budget as re-submitted, N15.7 billion for capital allocation has been moved to other areas. Some allocations made are not in keeping with our priorities,” he said.

“There is nothing allocated to public health and family health. Over the last two years, nothing has been done on HIV. We have to look into the details of the budget and re-submit it to the committee.

“This was not what we submitted. We ‘ll submit another one. We don’t want anything foreign to creep into that budget. What we submitted is not there.”

Speaking on the controversy surrounding the state house clinic, Adewole said the “rats” could be at work again, inflating and smuggling figures into the budget.

“The state house clinic is not under the ministry of health. I hope it’s not the same rats that changed things in our budget that changed it.

“The amount is meant for procurement and purchase of medical equipment. It is very important that you engage them because what happened to us might have also happened to them.

“It is possible that what is there, might not have been what they put there.”

Following the revelation, Lanre Tejuosho, chairman of the senate committee on health, said the committee would have to move into an executive session.

Adewole also revealed that Zika virus had “been with us since 1954”, but it did not cause havoc because Nigerians had grown resistant to the disease.