Senate Calls For Equipping Of State House Clinic To Stop Buhari From Embarking On Foreign Medical Trips

Members of the Senate Committee on Federal Character have asked State House officials to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from making any medical trips abroad so in order to ensure that the State House clinic becomes functional this year.

The Committee gave the charge when the State House Permanent Secretary, Tijani Umar, appeared before the panel to defend the 2021 budget estimates for the statehouse, TheNation reports.

Umar had presented a budget of N19.7bn for 2021, out of which N1.3bn was proposed for the State House Clinic.

Reacting to the proposal, the Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Danjuma La’ah, said the committee would approve the budget for the State House Clinic but insisted that the President and other top officials of his government should no longer be flown abroad for medical treatment.

After the budget defence, Umar told newsmen that the statehouse would work towards ensuring the state house clinic is functional to meet the medical needs of President Buhari and other top government officials.

President Buhari has made quite a number of foreign medical trips since he assumed office in 2015, which many Nigerians have condemned.

Many have accused him of not fixing the healthcare system in the country while embarking on various medical tourism at the expense of the country.