TheCable

The senate committee on federal character and intergovernmental affairs has asked state house officials to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from going on medical trips abroad.

Danjuma Laah, senator representing Kaduna south and the panel chairman, was speaking when Tijjani Umar, the statehouse permanent secretary, appeared to defend the statehouse 2021 budget on Thursday.

In 2017, the president spent over 150 days in the UK, treating an undisclosed ailment. Buhari returned to the UK for four days in May 2018 to see his doctor.

While appearing before the senate panel, Umar said N19 billion was budgeted for the statehouse in 2021 out of which N1.3 billion was proposed for the state house clinic.

Speaking with reporters after the budget defence session, Laah said the president must be first treated in Nigeria before he is taken out of the country.

“Our president is not a man to be taken out anytime or anything that happens to him on sickness matter,” the Kaduna senator said.

“He must attend our clinic here and we must make sure that we equip our hospital to the best of our ability so that any emergency will be first taken care here before flying him out if the need arises.

“It is already approved [N1.3 billion for state house clinic]. I want this thing done and I want the credit to go to the whole committee – leave a legacy for the statehouse, that the clinic we requested was done within the shortest time.”

On his part, Umar denied claims that the Aso Rock clinic is in a “comatose” state.

“It is not correct to say the statehouse clinic is in comatose, it is not. We have realigned some many things and one of the fundamental challenges we have dealt with is the sustainable supply of drugs and consumables. Don’t forget that this is derived from the budget,” the permanent secretary said.

“We have appealed to the committee to assist us with the presidential wing of the statehouse clinic.

“The N1.3 billion is absolutely inadequate when you juxtapose the amount proposed and the labour – the status of the principals that that project is going to serve, and you compare with worldwide standards you see that it is not anything near what we need.”

TheCable had reported in 2017 that the Aso Rock clinic did not have paracetamol and other medical supplies.