State House clinic not befitting for president – Reps

The condition of the State House clinic is not befitting enough for the president of the country to be treated there, a House of Representatives panel said yesterday.

Members of the ad-hoc panel investigating the deplorable condition of the clinic, who visited the facility yesterday, said the clinic is not better than any health facility in the country, describing its condition as disturbing.

The chairman of the panel, Rep Magaji Da’u Aliyu (APC, Jigawa) told Daily Trust in Abuja after the visit that the concerns raised by the wife of the president and others about the clinic were in order.

“There’s nothing to show that the place is a serious medical centre of that status. It’s not better than any health facility in this country. It’s quite disturbing,” he said.

The panel had last week quizzed the Minister of State for Health, Osagie Ehanire and the Permanent Secretary in the State House, Jalal Arabi, over the matter.

The committee also grilled officials from the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

Daily Trust had on October 3 exclusively reported how patients going for medical attention at the clinic groan over lack of drugs and equipment at the facility.

The clinic is meant to serve Nigeria’s president, vice president and their families as well as employees of the presidency and other privileged individuals.