Members of the Senate Committee on Health on were surprised during the 2016 budget defence when the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, Monday revealed that strange figures have been smuggled into budget proposal of the Ministry by some civil servants.
Shocked by the Prof. Adewole statement, the chairman of the Committee, Senator Lanre Tejuosho quickly called for Executive session.
But before Committee went on closed session, the Minister vowed to present another budget proposal to the committeeon Tuesday.
When the Minister, disclosed that strange figures have been smugled into 2016 budget, Senator Tejuosho said: “Honourable Minister, we need to have an executive session.
“You said about this budget that public health is not there.
“Obviously, the budget we are looking at now is not your own.”
In his response, Adewole said: “Yes, it’s not.
“We’ll submit the revised document tomorrow (Tuesday).
“It will be an updated version of what you have.”
The minister informed the lawmakers that there were some issues on which conclusion had not been reached by the ministry and yet allocations had been made to them without the ministry’s knowledge.
According to Adewole, the provisions of the budget before the National Assembly was in contrast with the priorities of the health sector as contained in the original budget it prepared, adding that some of the votes earmarked by the ministry for some activities had been re-distributed, while some important fields in the sector had been excluded.
He said: “In the revised budget as re-submitted, N15.7 billion for capital allocation has been moved to other areas.
“Some allocations made are not in keeping with our priorities.
“There is nothing allocated to public health and family health.
“Over the last two years, nothing has been done on HIV.
“We have to look into the details of the budget and re-submit it to the committee.”
Adewole also disclosed that State House Clinic to which N3.9 billion had been allocated in the budget at the expense of other hospitals put together, which got far less allocations, is not under the supervision of the Ministry of Health.
Also during the budget defence, the Minister of health allayed fears of Nigerians about Zika virus that is currently ravaging the United States and Brazil, saying the virus had actually been in Nigeria since 1954 but had been unable to harm citizens because Nigerians had developed strong resistance to it.