• Local Government Authorities Begin To Receive Medical Equipment
• Latest development won’t Stop our investigation – Oloriegbe
The essence of the motion that sought an investigation into the abandoned N400 billion National Primary Health Centre projects awarded during the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo has begun to materialize in a flash.
It would be recalled that the Chairman Senate Committee On Health (Secondary and Tertiary) Dr Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe representing Kwara Central, on the 16th of February 2022, moved a motion on the need to investigate the abandoned health projects which were funded through the monies deducted from the excess crude account of all the 774 LGAs in the country.
Following this motion, the Senate passed a resolution mandating its committees on Health, Primary Health Care and Communicable Disease, Works and Housing to determine the status of the funds warehoused with the then Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank) and the level of the projects in each of the 774 local government areas.
In a swift reaction to the development, the concerned contractors have however embarked on the penitential voyage by taking remedial steps to mitigate their alleged malfeasance.
Dreading the outcome of the ongoing investigations, they have started reaching out to the local government authorities whilst expediting corrective measures against their alleged professional misconduct and breach of contract.
And as part of efforts to address the lapses, the contractors have begun to deploy medical equipment to local government authorities and have evinced a readiness to resume work on the abandoned buildings across the country.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman Senate Committee on Health, Dr Ibrahim Oloriegbe reiterated the resolve of the committees to continue with the investigations, saying that the move will not deter them from getting to the root of the matter regarding the projects as they will ensure that Nigerians’ monies are working for them.
While bemoaning what he called a breach of contract, the lawmaker explained the significance of strengthening the primary health care system, saying that primary health care is the bedrock of the health system and its functioning optimally will ensure better health outcomes for the Country.