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The presidency has revealed that the ongoing state -of- the -art clinic which will offer medicare for the country’s President, Vice President and other officials of government is expected to be completed and commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari before the end of his administration.
Fielding questions after being led by the Permanent Secretary, Tijjani Umar to commission some of the legacy projects in the State House Clinic in Asokoro, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha Thursday affirmed that the Multi-billion naira project “will not only be completed but also commissioned before we exit.”
The SGF who commissioned four new projects at the State House Clinic, including a biosafety Level 2 Molecular Laboratory, certified by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), a medium capacity incinerator donated by the Ecological Project Office, Office of the SGF, the Dental Wing Extension Building and a block of 2-bedroom flats at the Staff Quarters of the Clinic, said more projects will be commissioned.
Recall that President Buhari in 2021 approved a site for the construction of a VIP wing of the State House clinic within the precinct of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The duo, joined by the Medical Director, Dr Munir Yakassai and other officials had commissioned four legacy projects including Molecular Laboratory, Dental Wing Extension, a remodeled burnt Staff Quarters facilitated through direct labour by the Maintenance Department of the State House and a medical Incinerator donated by the Ecological Office.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary said the State House medical centre was populated by an array of professionals, whose training, qualification and experience have continued to place the clinic as a destination of choice for patients, interns and various medical personnel taking care and mentorship.
He said the completion of the projects has made it possible for the Dental and Radiology Department in particular as well as the Theater, to deploy fully and provide care to those in need of it.
He disclosed that the ongoing construction of the Presidential Wing of the State House Clinic, designed to be a one-stop shop Medicare services for Mr President, the Vice President and their families as well as other high-level dignitaries, Mustapha assured that the project would be delivered on schedule before the end of this administration.
The Permanent Secretary, State House, thanked the SGF for single-handedly facilitating the Molecular Laboratory Project by NCDC and ensuring the donation of a fit for purpose medical incinerator to assist in the disposal of medical waste.
Underscoring the importance of medium capacity incinerator, Umar disclosed: ‘‘this donation was almost fortuitous as the existing low-capacity incinerators in the Clinic had seen better days and were continuously breaking down when they were required most.’’
He explained that the completed Dental Wing Extension building has made it possible for the Dental and Radiology departments as well as the Theatre under the Chief Matron to deploy fully, providing care to patients.
On the renovated 2-bedroom flats, which keys the SGF handed over to two medical staff, the Permanent Secretary recounted that last December a tragic fire incident in the Staff Quarters of the Clinic completely destroyed that block of 2nos 2-bedroom flats occupied by the medical staff.
Umar used the occasion to express his profound gratitude to the array of professionals in the State House Clinic, saying their ‘‘training, qualification and experience have continued to place the Clinic as a destination of choice for patients, interns and various medical personnel seeking care and mentorship.’’
He also thanked the Medical Director, Munir Hussaini Yakassai and the clinic staff for supporting his modest effort to turn around the facility for good, pledging that ‘‘there is still much more to do.’’
The Director-General of NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa pledged that the Centre would continue to provide the needed support, including maintenance and consumables, for the effective running of the Molecular Laboratory, which uses cutting-edge technology to study infectious agents or toxins that are associated with human disease.
The SGF also toured the newly renovated and extended Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department of the State House Clinic.(Nigerian Pilot)
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