By Chesa Chesa
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the site for the building of a VIP wing of the State House
Clinic, within the precinct of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The clinic is scheduled to be completed in the next two years, and before the end of the Buhari
administration, according to the Permanent Secretary, State House, Tijani Umar.
The Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter Governmental Affairs has visited the site during
its oversight function to know the level of utilization of budgetary allocation to State House.
Fielding questions from journalists, the Permanent Secretary lamented that the non-release of
budgetary allocation to State House in full has become a challenge as some of the facilities at the
nation’s seat of power have become obsolete.
He disclosed that “the biggest intervention we require is in building and construction of the Presidential
wing of the State House Clinic, which is of a strategic national importance and it’s being done in form of
a legacy project.
“And by the time this administration leaves office, we would have the Presidential wing of the State
House Clinic in place so that it will be very clear that all the observations and all the hopes and
aspirations that the general public has expressed of the State House Clinic and its facilities have been
achieved.
“For now, we have already started in earnest with activities that are required for the construction, we
have received the necessary approvals. We have received the no objection from the Bureau of Public
Procurement (BPP).
“We have already directed the contractor because he’s going to come in form of a turnkey project, in
order to mobilise and take over the site, and to develop the necessary drawings, and the geo-technical
survey reports that we have, so that the two years that we have set for ourselves to deliver this project
can be achieved.”
Asked how much the project would cost, he said, “It is going to be delivered over two budget years:
2021 and 2022, and we have not yet finalised being a turnkey project, we need the contractors to
conclude the development of the drawings and other necessary documents that we need, and for them
to give us an estimate that is conclusive for the building.
“And then we also move forward to the issue of equipping the building after delivering it and then place
it before the BPP for consideration.”
Umar further lamented that out of about N8,699 billion budgeted for State House in the 2018 fiscal
year, only about N5,083 billion which was about 58 per cent was released, leaving an outstanding
balance of about N3,616 billion.
He told the committee that in 2019 out of about N6,955 billion budgeted, only about N2 billion which
was about 38 per cent of the total sum was released, leaving an outstanding balance of about N4 billion
as the shortfall, While in 2020, the sum of about N4,878 billion was appropriated and fully released.
On how the State House was coping with the funding challenges, Umar said, “First and foremost, let me
say that we are privileged to be in this position, to be able to discharge these huge responsibilities and
I’m also happy that you raised the issue of funding challenges.
“I also want to use the opportunity to distinguish very clearly between appropriation and release. Just
like you mentioned now, in 2018, about N8 billion was appropriated, out of which only about N5 billion
was released. Definitely, looking at the enormity of the challenges that we are dealing with from day to
day, that is affecting our performance.
“However, we are in a tradition of prudence and we also have not lost sight of the challenges that we
have internationally, especially with COVID in regard to how much money in the country in its entirety
makes.
“However, I would like to say that the State House needs quite a formidable level of support and
improvement in the funding, especially because we are dealing with phasing out a lot of infrastructure
that have come to the end of their lifespan.
“We have the issue of our ICT infrastructure, we have the issue of our equipment in the Conference
Centre here, kitchen equipment, we have the issue of telecommunications, and operational and utility
vehicles that are gradually coming to the tail end of their lives and we need to replace them.”
