Presidency clears the air on Aso Rock clinic, says only 33% capital allocation is received

macfranc007 October 15, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Kess Ewubare

- The presidency says there was zero capital allocation for the Aso Rock clinic in 2017

- The permanent secretary of the state house, Jalal Arabi, states that the amount allocated to the clinic are verifiable from the ministries of finance, budget and national planning

- He says the clinic has continued to provide free services to the over 10,000 registered patients annually despite the shortfalls between budgetary provisions and actual releases

The presidency has faulted recent media reports suggesting that the State House Medical Centre received the sum of N11.01billion as appropriation for the period 2015-2017.

The permanent secretary of the state house, Jalal Arabi, clarified that contrary to the media claims, out of the total capital appropriation of N2,941,062,044.00 and recurrent appropriation of N465,935,358.00 for the period under reference, only the sum of N969,681,821.53 (representing 32.97%) for capital and N225,575,200.60 (representing 48.41%) for recurrent was actually released to the clinic.

Arabi in a statement issued on Sunday, October 15, by Attah Esa, the deputy director of information state house, noted that there was zero capital allocation for the medical centre in 2017, while out of the N331,730,211.00 being recurrent appropriation for 2017, the actual amount released up to September was N91,370,053.60 (representing only 27.54%).

He stated that the above figures are verifiable from the ministries of finance, budget and national planning.

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He said the Aso Rock clinic had continued to provide free services to the over 10,000 registered patients annually despite the shortfalls between budgetary provisions and actual releases.

Arabi added that the clinic has continued to execute on-going projects.

The permanent secretary said some beneficiaries of the free services provided by the clinic apart from the presidency include political appointees, the military, para-military, other security agencies, members of the National Assembly, and the general public.

“Considering the unrestricted patronage base and free services of the State House Medical Centre, coupled with the funding hiccups and periodic receipts, it may not be far-fetched to notice gaps between demand and supply of medical equipment and consumables at certain stages of the budget circle," he stated that.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has set up an adhoc committee to investigate allegations of malpractices and incompetence leveled against the Aso Rock clinic by the wife of the Nigerian president, Aisha Buhari.

Henry Archibong representing Itu/Ibiono Ibom federal constituency, on Thursday, October 12, moved a motion calling for an investigation into deplorable conditions at the State House clinic.

NAIJ.com gathered that the House commended Mrs Buhari for her exemplary show of patriotism and selflessness in bringing the allegations into its hearing.

The House also agreed to set up an adhoc committee to investigate the deplorable condition of the State House clinic and the alleged deductions from the salaries and allowances of the medical staff and report back within three weeks for further legislative action.

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