Reps unhappy over FCT Area Councils’ primary healthcare budget performance

The House of Representatives has expressed dissatisfaction with the 2023 budget performance of the Department of Primary Healthcare, FCT Area Council Service Secretariat.

The Committee directed the agency to reconcile all relevant documents within seven days and provide its Clerk with the nominal roll and addresses of the 270 Primary Healthcare Centers across the FCT.

The Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on FCT Area Council and Ancillary Services, Hon. Peter Akpanke, expressed this displeasure during the Committee’s oversight visit to the FCT Area Council Secretariat, citing discrepancies in the budget document presented by the agency.

He stated, “I am not satisfied with your budget performance. As a health-related agency, you should be proactive in addressing health issues.

“While the agency requests increased funding, it must improve its performance to justify that request to the Committee.”

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To enhance service delivery, Hon. Akpanke emphasized the need to improve the welfare packages for Corps Members posted to the Agency.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the FCT Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Ruqayya Wamakko, reported that the agency’s overhead cost was N4.8 million.

Dr. Wamakko, who assumed office six months ago, explained that she had been working to renovate the office to create a more conducive working environment.

“There was no inventory upon my arrival,” she said.

“We have approximately 300 staff in the agency, with nine management staff members occupying this building.”

The Executive Secretary also requested increased funding for the agency to enhance immunization sensitization campaigns in communities.

During another oversight visit to the Area Council Service Commission, the Committee observed that the agency’s approved budget was not directly released to them.

Expressing dissatisfaction, the Committee instructed the Clerk to write to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) requesting an explanation for the indirect disbursement of the agency’s approved budget.

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 agency’s challenges.

Mrs. Yakubu disclosed that out of the N250 million approved for overhead costs, N240 million was released.

She further explained that the agency does not receive its budget directly. “We must apply to the FCDA,” she said.

Regarding recruitment, the Committee observed that the agency had not adhered to the federal character principle.

Further inquiries revealed that the agency’s last recruitment exercise occurred 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, explained the Board’s mandate and disclosed that outstanding payments were still owed to pensioners.