The Senate Thursday, reportedly issued a strong warning to State House Officials to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from embarking on medical tourism. The warning was given by Senator Danjuma La’ah, Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs, when the State House Permanent Secretary, Tijani Umar, appeared before the panel to defend his 2021 budget estimates.
The Senate urged the government and the Statehouse officials to put the State House Clinic in order instead of allowing President Buhari jetting out every other month to seek medical attention abroad.
In case you missed it, a whopping ₦19.7 billion was presented by the State House official as part of their 2021 budget out of which ₦1.3 billion was earmarked for the State House Clinic.
Lack of faith in the quality of local healthcare is one of the reasons why our leaders embark on frequent medical tourism – the same leaders who conveniently jet out to receive quality healthcare abroad over the slightest medical discomfort, while the masses are left to manage the poor healthcare services back home, unfortunately.
Nigeria‘s health sector is faced with a lack of quality healthcare services, poor health infrastructure, fake drugs, poor funding, and inadequate healthcare personnel.
It is about time our leaders begin to set their priorities right and wake up to their responsibilities. Perhaps, if our leaders are barred from embarking on frequent medical tourism, they might be forced to address the challenges in the health sector and provide quality healthcare for the masses.
Leave a reply