The House of Representatives has expressed dissatisfaction with the 2023 budget performance of the Department of Primary Healthcare under the FCT Area Council Service Secretariat.
The Committee directed the agency to reconcile all relevant documents within seven days and submit the nominal roll and addresses of the 270 Primary Healthcare Centres across the FCT to its Clerk.
The Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on FCT Area Council and Ancillary Services, Hon. Peter Akpanke, expressed his displeasure during the Committee’s oversight visit to the FCT Area Council Secretariat after noticing discrepancies in the budget documents presented by the agency.
He said: “I am not satisfied with your budget performance. As a health-related agency, you should be proactive in addressing health-related issues.
“As much as the agency is calling for more funding, it must improve its performance to convince the Committee.”
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In a bid to improve service delivery, Hon. Akpanke emphasized the need to enhance the welfare packages for Corps Members posted to the agency.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the FCT Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Ruqayya Wamakko, disclosed that the agency’s overhead cost was N4.8 million.
Dr. Wamakko, who assumed office six months ago, stated that she had been making efforts to renovate the office to create a more conducive working environment.
She said: “There was no inventory when I arrived.
“We have about 300 staff members in the agency, and nine management staff occupy this block.”
The Executive Secretary also requested increased funding to enhance community sensitization campaigns on immunization.
During another oversight visit to the Area Council Service Commission, the Committee observed that the budget approved for the agency was not directly released to them.
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Expressing dissatisfaction, the Committee instructed the Clerk to write to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to provide reasons why the approved budget was not directly disbursed to the agency.
Speaking before the Committee, Acting Administrative Secretary of the FCT Area Councils Service Commission, Mrs. Eunice Yakubu, along with other senior staff members, outlined the challenges faced by the agency.
Mrs. Yakubu disclosed that out of the N250 million approved as overhead costs for the agency, N240 million had been released.
She further explained that the agency does not receive its budget directly. “We have to apply to the FCDA,” she said.
Regarding recruitment, the Committee observed that the agency had not adhered to the federal character principle.
Further inquiries by the Committee revealed that the last recruitment exercise conducted by the agency took place in 2008.
Other oversight visits by the Committee included a meeting with the management staff of the FCT Area Council Pension Board.
The Director of the FCT Area Councils Staff Pension Board, Suleiman Abdulrahman, while explaining the Board’s mandate, disclosed that there were still outstanding payments to pensioners.
