The Senate on Thursday moved to stop President Mohammadu Buhari from embarking on foreign medical trips.
The Red Chamber told State House officials to ensure that the President no longer goes on foreign trips for medical treatment in order to ensure the State House clinic becomes functional this year.
Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs gave the warning when the State House Permanent Secretary, Tijani Umar, appeared before the panel to defend his 2021 budget estimates.
Recall that the State House official had presented a budget of N19.7bn for 2021, out of which N1.3bn was proposed for the State House Clinic.
Though the Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Danjuma La’ah, said the committee would approve the budget for the State House Clinic the Senate however insisted that the President and other top officials of his government should no longer be flown abroad for medical treatment.
Speaking with the press after defending his budget, the Permanent Secretary promised to put necessary arrangements in place to meet the medical needs of the President and other top officials once the budget was approved.
He said: “We have appealed to the committee to assist us with the presidential wing of the State House Clinic.
“The N1.3bn is absolutely inadequate when you juxtapose the amount proposed, the labour, and the status of the principals that the project is going to serve.
“When compared with worldwide standards you see that it is not anything near what we need.”