Facts Olumhense needs to know

Without meaning to bore readers with the issue, I wish to lay down the actions taken by government of Nigeria under Muhammadu Buhari in response to the audit findings of the Global Fund in order to counter false narratives.

This is to achieve two things. First, to put on record that those fraudulent practices which predated the Buhari administration, precisely uncovered in the 2014-2015 audit were dealt with to the satisfaction of the administration and our partners, leading to their resumption of their much cherished support to the nation’s health programmes.

Two, so that we can clarify issues for people who may have read Sonala Olumhense’s hateful column thinking some of it to be true and to provide evidence at the same time, that the former president acted in the interest of the nation to rescue the country’s fight against diseases such as HIV Aids and the malaria elimination program.

Following the acceptance of that audit report, the administration enunciated a twelve-point action plan it fully implemented that restored the lost confidence of our partners and these were:

1. The government refunded the amount US$5.8 million in recoverable amounts identified from previous Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audit and investigations and there were no outstanding recoverable amounts as at the time President Buhari left.

2. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Global Fund and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) on account of which all the staff involved in the fraudulent activities were prosecuted, and funds and property recovered from them.

3. Global Fund conducted several capacity assessments of the Government PRs and had given clean bill of health to conduct business, thus, National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) and the National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP) partnerships had been restored.

4. NACA and NMEP Financial Management System capacity have been enhanced and have since July 2017 resumed grant implementation with focus on policy, coordination, and oversight.

5. Institution of Program Management Units within the office of each Government PR with requisite programmatic and financial capacity for sufficient risk assurance.

6. Introduction and scale-up of Fiscal Agents as safeguard measures to minimize risks associated with procurements and financial management.

7. International non-governmental organizations i.e., Family Health International, FHI360 and CRS were engaged to support the implementation of HIV and Malaria treatment respectively, and service delivery at the health facility and community level.

8. Improved governance of Global Fund (GF) grants through the adoption and implementation of Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) reforms and evolution, yielding a reduced yet more inclusive CCM membership with inclusion of Key Populations, gender, and states representation for enhanced CCM resource mobilization, oversight and conflicts of interest management while strengthening the CCM secretariat.

9. Progress with increased domestic resource mobilization through the release of 1% of annual budget (National Health

ACT) Consolidated Fund Revenue, establishment of the HIV Trust Fund and the National Health Insurance Authority and the development of the HIV, TB, and Malaria financial sustainability plans.

10. Government of Nigeria continued to honor its commitment to place 50,000 PLWHIV on ART through annual budgetary allocation and release to the end of the administration.

11. Through an exceptional Presidential waiver of the Nigeria procurement laws, Nigeria undertook procurement of HIV, TB and Malaria health products and technologies through international competitive pooled procurement mechanisms guaranteeing efficiency and value for money.

12. The development and implementation of a national supply chain strategy that institutionalised and strengthened procurement and supply chain capacity at the federal and state levels. The FMOH established the National Procurement and Supply Chain Management Program (NPSCMP) to strengthen coordination across the three tiers of government. State Logistics Management Coordination Units (LMCU) have been established and with the support of PRs are providing logistics support to public health programs. Assessment of the Government PRs’ Procurement and supply chain capacities resulted in the development and implementation of a transition plan with improved inventory management and reconciliation of medicines at the central level. The implementation of Drug Management Agency to facilitate Drug Revolving Funds across the 36 states and FCT also commenced.

On the unproven allegation of a so-called Buhari Estate, about which the columnist revised himself to say it is a “mansion,” Solana seems to think that it is game to take the liberty of making charges and leaving the victim to defend himself, failing which, the accusations are trumpeted to be “true”. Where a little investigation would have given clarity, the door is opened to frivolous and simply malicious charges, not worthy of a response. This is a weak form of journalism.

I give it to him that he did not ride on the Buhari-made Lagos-Ibadan train. So, shall we now rise to applaud his imagination as a writer for that wonderfully descriptive and illustrative column? Cheers.

Finally, to say that anyone ensconced in the American gleaming malls and opulent high rises will be forgiven if they are unable to take notice of the change, even if incremental that is taking place back in Nigeria.

I was with President Buhari in 2016 when he commissioned the Samuel Ogbemudia College and Garrick Memorial School in Benin, the city that nurtured Olumhense -schools that were decrepit- refurbished by the Adams Oshiomwhole led-APC administration, at which occasion the President sat in class along with the Governor and took lessons for the purpose of inspiring the young students.

It is a mistake to say that the President “did not pursue the path of serving the people,” as the writer claimed or that “anyone outside the circle of Buhari’s cronies knows that he made everything worse...leaving your country worse than you met it.”