Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has spoken on the condemnation of Aso Rock clinic by wife of the president, Aisha Buhari.
Aisha had on Monday said the facility was redundant despite a budget of N3bn.
She further lamented that the clinic had no syringes, drugs and a functional X-ray machine.
In a chat with Punch, the minister said he was not aware of the “huge allocation” to the ministry.
”But certainly, the revelation by the wife of Mr. President is quite unsettling and I have called the Managing Director of the hospital.
”The hospital is not under me but under the Presidency, but as the minister of health, I intervened and I will be visiting the facility to have firsthand knowledge of his challenges.
”I don’t want to make any pronouncements until I have been there and till I hear his side of the story.”
On declaration that doctors in the public sector would not be allowed to have their private practice, the minister replied: “That was not what I said. I said the government has decided to set up an expanded committee.”
“The government considered the report of a technical committee to look into industrial relations within the public service and the committee started meeting about two years ago and so, it is not new.
”The committee submitted its report in September and it was brought to the Federal Executive Council. One of the recommendations was that the government should look into the abuse of private practice in the health sector and set up an expanded committee.
”The role of professional ethics allows a doctor to do private practice outside of his official working hours, but the 1999 Constitution does not allow anyone to do private practice apart from farming.
”So, the committee is looking into it because the government received a petition from some civil society organisations, accusing some doctors of abusing their privileges and positions and the government is bound to look into it.”
