Aso Rock Clinic: Aisha Buhari Accuses Management

Aisha Buhari, the wife of the president yesterday accused the management of the Aso Rock clinic of poor services, asking the authorities to give account of the huge budgetary allocation to the hospital. This development came as the presidency announced plans to commercialise the State House Medical Centre (SHMC) for better health delivery system amidst mounting allegations of misappropriation and withholding of funds meant for medical supplies.

The centre currently offers free medical services to patients. It provides medical services to the president, vice president and their families, aides, members of staff of the State House and other entitled public servants. It is also a training facility for house officers and other medical personnel.

The Permanent Secretary, State House, Mr. Jalal Arabi, last week said the decision of the management to seek the commercialisation of the centre, among others, was to boost its revenue and augment the appropriation it receives from the government in the quest for better services.

But the wife of the President who berated the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr. Hussain Munir, yesterday expressed disappointment over poor services in the hospital despite huge allocations by government over the years.

Mrs. Buhari also took a swipe at the managers of the clinic, insisting that there is the need for them to tell Nigerians how the N3.89billion budget for the clinic last year was expended before it was reduced to N331.7millon this year.

“If the budget is N100million, we need to know ‎how the budget is spent,” she said at the opening of a stakeholders meeting on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) organised by her pet project, Future Assured.

At the event attended by wives of the governors of the 36 states, development partners, primary health care coordinators, among others, Mrs. Buhari lamented: ‎”You are all aware for the last six months, Nigeria wasn’t stable because of my husband’s ill health, we thank God he is fully recovered now.

“If somebody like Mr. President can spend several months outside Nigeria, then you wonder what will happen to a common man on the street in Nigeria.

“A few weeks ago, I was sick as well, they advised me to take the first flight out to London. I refused to go. I said I must be treated in Nigeria because there is a budget for an assigned clinic to take care of us.

“If the budget is N100 million, we need to know how it is spent. Along the line, I insisted they call Aso Clinic to find out if the x-ray machine was working. They said it was not working. They didn’t know I am the one that was supposed to be in that hospital at that very time.

“I had to go to a hospital that was established by foreigners in and out 100 per cent. What does that mean?

“So, I think it is high time for us to do the right thing. If something like this can happen to me, no need for me to ask the governors’ wives what is happening in their states.

“This is Abuja and this is the highest seat of government, and this is the Presidential Villa. One of the speakers has already said we have very good policies in Nigeria. In fact, we have the best policies in Africa but the implementation has been the problem. So, we need to change our mindset and do the right thing.”