By EricJames Ochigbo
The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT)-Area Council and Ancillary Services has decried the 2023 budget performances of the Department of Primary Healthcare, FCT Area Council Service Secretariat
The committee at an oversight function on Friday in Abuja, issued a seven-day ultimatum to the department to reconcile all grey areas and represented to the committee for further legislative actions.
The lawmakers also demanded for the nominal roll of members of staff and addresses of all 270 Primary Healthcare Centres across the territory within the same period.
The Deputy Chairman of the committee, Rep. Peter Akpanke (PDP-Rivers) said that the ultimatum became necessary following the discrepancies observed in the budget document presented by the agency.
“I do not feel satisfied looking at your budget performance. As a health-related agency, you should be proactive in solving health-related issues.
“In as much as the agency is calling for more funding, it has to improve on its performance to convince the committee,” he said.
He said that there need to encourage corps members under the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC) posted to the agency by improving their welfare packages.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr Ruqayya Wamakko explained to the committee that the agency’s overhead cost was N4.8 million.
Wamakko also explained to the lawmakers there was no inventory when assumed office six months ago and that she had been making efforts to renovate the office to create a more conducive working environment.
According to her, the board have no fewer than 300 members of staff, nine of which are management staff that occupy a block.
The executive secretary called for increased funding for the board to enhance sensitisation on immunisation particularly in rural communities.
In a related development, the acting Administrative Secretary of the FCT Area Councils Service Commission, Mrs. Eunice Yakubu, told the committee that the agency’s budget is not directly released to the agency.
She explained to the lawmakers that the agency have to apply to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to access approved funds for the agency’s operations.
Yakubu disclosed that out of the N250 million approved as overhead costs for the agency, only N240 million was released.
The lawmakers instructed the Committee Clerk to write to the FCDA to provide reasons why the approved budget for the agency was not directly disbursed to them.
The committee discovered that the agency had not employed since 2008 pledging to look into the staff strength of the agency