Lawyer petitions national assembly over ‘plan to privatise’ Aso Rock medical centre

Gbenga Adewale, a legal practitioner, has sent a petition to Godswill Akpabio, senate president; and Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives.

The lawyer’s petition is premised on the purported plan to privatise the operations of the State House Medical Centre (SHMC) in Aso Rock.

The SHMC, located within the precincts of the presidential villa, shares a perimeter with the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

Adewale said handing over the facility’s management to private operators would expose sensitive national assets and breach established security protocols.

“No rational democracy would place its equivalent of the White House Medical Centre under private control,” the petition seen by TheCable reads.

“The sensitive nature of medical information, presidential travel, and classified procedures demands the highest confidentiality, only possible under state-vetted civil service staff who were vetted by the DSS for periods over 5 years at employment and continuously.

“For emphasis, one of the gravest concerns in the current discourse around the management of the State House Medical Centre (SHMC) is the issue of security.

“The SHMC is not just any facility; it is deeply embedded within the country’s highest security infrastructure.

“Handing over its operations to private facility managers amounts to placing Nigeria’s most sensitive national security assets at risk. This is unthinkable in any rational democracy.

“The location of the SHMC alone is enough reason to raise red flags. It is not in a regular public hospital setting, it is in a tightly controlled security zone.

“Any attempt to bring in external, privately contracted operators into this zone would compromise not just confidentiality, but also national safety and sovereignty.”

The lawyer raised concerns that such a move could compromise the confidentiality of medical records related to the president and other senior officials.

He called for an immediate halt to the alleged privatisation plan, urging investigations into the parties involved and a reaffirmation of government control over the facility.

“If allowed, this move may set a precedent where private facility managers take over medical services for the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Military, Naval, Air Force, Department of State Security (DSS), Police, Customs, Civil Defence, Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and other sensitive institutions,” he added.

“This would completely dismantle the state’s protective apparatus and erode sovereignty from within.

“If the aim is health system reform, then there are over 100 moribund federal teaching hospitals, specialist centres, FMCs, National Orthopaedic and Eye hospitals across Nigeria that could benefit from such interventions without jeopardizing national security.

“The private investors should buy land and build world-class hospitals if they are so good and wish to participate in the healthcare sector, not cannibalize the nation’s nerve centre.”

Adewale called for the immediate intervention of the president, head of the civil service of the federation, national assembly, director-general of the DSS, the courts, the media, and civil society organisations.

He urged them to halt the ongoing process of privatising operations at the SHMC and investigate all individuals involved.

The lawyer said State House assets and personnel should remain under full government control, particularly in the interest of national security.

He warned that failure to address the situation may force him to seek legal redress and escalate the matter to relevant authorities.

The lawyer said the SHMC is worth over N200 billion. He said that scale of investment should not be transferred to private interests on the pretext of private facility management.

The head of the civil service of the federation and the permanent secretary of the State House were also copied in the petition.

In May 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the presidential wing of the SHMC worth N21 billion.

The facility spans 2,485 square metres and will serve as a specialised intensive care centre for the president, vice-president, their immediate families and VIPs.