The sight was not just bewildering it was also shocking. Dateline was Thursday, May 29, 2003. Venue was Aso Rock Presidential Villa. It was the cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate the second term victory and second swearing-in ceremony of then President Matthew Okikiolakan Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo. Joining Obasanjo to cut the celebration cake were two governors and some party leaders of the supposed opposition All Peoples Party, APP (which later became All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, before a faction of it morphed into General Muhammadu Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change, CPC.

By this time, the only other opposition party, the Alliance for Democracy, AD, had lost all but one of its six governors in the South-West geo-political zone, which was its stronghold. Apart from Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos State, who survived through his grit, determination and an insider dealing of a leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the other five bit the political dust. Adebayo Adefarati of Ondo State, Lam Adeshina of Oyo State, Niyi Adebayo of Ekiti State, Segun Osoba of Ogun State, and Bisi Akande of Osun State, all lost the governorship election of that year. Through subterfuge, reliance on ethno-cultural bias, alleged manipulation of election results, and strategic deception, Obasanjo was able to bulldoze his way through and get PDP to take over the five states. 

In fact, according to a February 25, 2004 Report extracted from the 2001-2009 Archive of the US State Department, “the elections (of 2003) also resulted in the ruling PDP winning 70 percent of the seats in the national legislature and 75 percent of the state governorship.” That was how strong the PDP was.

Prior to the bizarre events of May 2003, and under the guise of forming a Government of National Unity, GNU, Obasanjo, upon assuming office in 1999, rewarded the National Chairman of the APP, Senator Mahmud Waziri, with appointment as his Presidential Adviser on Inter-Party Affairs. Meanwhile, Obasanjo had two other Presidential Advisers on National Assembly Matters and another one on Political Affairs. So, what was the brief of Waziri, if not to use him as an instrument of destabilisation of the APP?

In that same 1999, for AD, Obasanjo reached for and appointed one of the leaders of Afenifere and AD, late Chief James Ajibola Idowu Ige (Bola Ige), SAN, as minister of power. He then grabbed Dupe Adelaja, daughter of Afenifere and National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, Leader, Pa Abraham Aderibigbe Adesanya, and appointed her as Minister of State, Defence. All these happened between 1999 and 2003.

So, how did these two opposition parties disappear from the political firmament – or as they would love to delude themselves, become a shapeless shadow? It is because those who are supposed to be in the opposition are afflicted with a cocktail of malaise that renders them both toothless and irrelevant over time. This report has codified them into 10.

QUOTES

The spirit of Mammon is in bed with many Nigerian politicians. Money is like an elixir for the politician because the primary reason why many of them go into politics is to make money

Due to the fickle and fluid state of affairs, many do not have the stamina to stand against the might of the ruling party. Blackmail, intimidation, abuse of court processes and other such unholy acts are used to whip opposition politicians in line

 

Because of loss of faith in the ability of the EMB to be above board, opposition politicians seek shelter in the ruling party where they are almost always certain to win and return to office

 

Deep-seated uncertainty

In his seminal work of February, 2002, titled: ‘Viable Party System As Basis Of Democracy’, Professor Omo Omoruyi of the famed Centre for Democratic Studies, CDS, pricked the conscience. He posited: “The notion of the deep-seated uncertainty (about Nigeria) has to do with the relationship between the past, the present and the future. When it affects a country, it can be a severe crisis. This is the problem in Nigeria today. I shall try to apply the concept of deep-seated uncertainty to three areas of Nigerian political life: The lingering political problems; the declining faith in the political order; and the notion of winners and losers.”

Socio-economic contradictions

In the course of doing this report, it was discovered that the social and economic contradictions inherent in Nigeria’s political sphere make it difficult, if not impossible, for opposition to thrive with a view to making the progressive change that should dominate conversations before and after the fact.

In a political system that is neo-patrimonial and largely based on links of connections and patronage between political stakeholders and stockholders, delinking abhorrent behavioural instincts from activities on the political terrain becomes difficult.

This report may not be able to dig deeper into the theoretical underpinning of competitive party behaviours. But there are the Vote-seeking parties; Office-seeking parties; and Policy-seeking parties. Unfortunately for Nigerians, it does not appear that any of the parties in operation today fits the policy-seeking model. As has been proved since 1999, the parties align with the office-seeking model but stretches it further by asphyxiating the political space

What is worse, Professor Omoruyi insists that the now common refrain of ‘THERE IS NO VACANCY IN ASO ROCK’, a statement which was introduced into Nigeria’s politics by PDP and now a hackneyed phrase for the APC, is abhorrent to party politics.

According to Omoruyi, what Nigerians should appreciate is that democracy is anchored on the feeling or faith under three conditions: “That there would be another election; That the winner is not the winner for all time; and That the loser is not the loser for all time.

“Consequently,” he continued, “democracy abhors the expression which can only mean one of two things or both, which are: there would not be a free and fair nomination process within the ruling party; and that there would not be a free and fair election process in 2003.”

Therefore, he concluded, “the meaning of both would be the following: That the two processes would be massively rigged to achieve the predetermined ends; that the President’s men are at work to implement a programme directed at the two ends; that the process of choosing party offices within the ruling party would be applied to achieve the same ends; that the process of divide and rule would be implemented to deal with other parties; that the electoral law coming out of the National Assembly on the next election would be such as to as to achieve the predetermined ends; and that the use of “faked” security reports as an argument to determine the schedule of elections in 2002 for the local government must be seen within the context of the two ends.”

Voters inducement

It has also been suggested that political parties do clinch power through the inducement of a section of the voting public and will go to great lengths to equally induce leaders of the opposition not to ‘disturb’ its grip on power. Late Dr. Wahab Dosunmu, Second Republic Minister of Housing blazed the ignominious trail of jumping from AD to PDP.

Asked about the possible implications of his move, he simply said people should go to court and test the provisions of the law. He was soon followed by Oluseye Ogunlewe also from AD to PDP and was rewarded with a ministerial post. Once there was no challenge to these two, the floodgate was opened. Even the attempt to stem the tide, rendering vacant seats of legislators who jump ship without conditions precedent by law, is yet to bear the desired dividend because of the convoluted and up-and-down judicial pronouncements coming from the courts.

So, Vanguard has carefully codified into10 the reasons parties that are supposed to play the role of opposition end up becoming toothless.

1.Greed of political actors

Exploring the etymology of the word greed is unnecessary here. A simple look at your average politician and his ways signposts him as a greedy fellow. Defined as “intense and selfish for something, especially wealth, power or food,” the politician who finds himself on the losing side craves that which he lost but does so without scruples. As if possessed by the spirit of avarice, it is about him and what he can get. That is why a politician who espoused all the virtuous concepts of RIGHT, becomes a legislator and jumps ship from his party to another party, (usually the ruling party) so as to partake in the privileges and benefits of being part of the same.

2.Role of money

The spirit of Mammon is in bed with many Nigerian politicians. Money is like an elixir for the politician because the primary reason why many of them go into politics is to make money. You can be in opposition and earn respect but you can not be in opposition and make money. It is even more difficult in a culture of winner-takes-all. Because he has nothing truly strategic to offer his constituents, he must explore all avenues of making money so that he can begin to stockpile palliatives that he would distribute. Instead of engaging critical thinking and availing his constituents visible dividends of democracy in the area of infrastructural development in education, health and other areas, many want the money. Sometimes, the money is not even used to palliate the constituents, it is to engage in sartorial flamboyance and acquisition of properties and choice cars. You can not make money as an opposition politician, so you jump ship. Labour Party, LP, which, according to the results of the House of Representatives elections of February last year, won 35 seats, now has 17 seats – 18 Reps have joined APC.

3.Pressure from constituents

Because a people deserve the type of leaders they get, constituents and followers are also complicit in this craze to defect to the ruling party. In an environment where poverty has been so weaponised, many followers of politicians also want to ‘belong’ – that is, they want to be where the action is happening. Seeing members of the ruling party being serenaded with palliatives, constituents sometimes pile pressure on their political leaders who are ready and willing to jump ship not necessarily to better the lot of the followers but to satisfy a desire that had been latent and looking for an avenue to blossom.

4.Fear of losing political relevance

After every election, politicians take stock, scan the environment and seek to make the most of their new office. For people who lack scruples but find themselves in opposition, they weigh their options. Members of the ruling party are almost always the news makers – mostly, for the wrong reasons. The opposition candidates enjoy a season of honeymoon in the limelight but soon fizzle out because of the toxic nature of the political space. Political correctness then becomes the order of the day. That way opposition politicians would not be seen to be attempting to upturn the applecart. The less forceful he or she is in the House of Representatives or Senate or State House of Assembly, the higher the chances of becoming a committee chair or a vice chairman. It is the fear of losing relevance that ends up making some opposition politicians engage political correctness as a standard practice. This leads to waffling and double speak. But the polity is structured in a manner that embraces idiocy, sycophancy and praise-singing hence politicians fear losing relevance and would go to any length to remain ‘relevant’, including keeping silent in the face of oppression

5.AGIP political orientation

Some politicians, since 1999, have become known as AGIP (And Government In Power) politicians. From AD, to PDP, APP, ANPP, ACN, ACD, CPC, LP, some politicians have traversed all the parties listed. For them, any party that clinches the federal power becomes a nestling place for them. It is not about what they want to offer the people but what they can get by being on the winning side. Politicians like that do not stay in opposition to fight for something other than self. To wait and expect something constructive or meaningful from such individuals would be like waiting for Godot.

6.Absence of a second address

Some politicians who may have trained in one profession or the other have never practiced for a day. Seeing politics as a sure means of acquiring wealth and power, they jumped in either through ancestry or patrimonial connection or success-by-association. Having become so comfortable with feeding fat on the largesse of the government, they have no other means of livelihood than to be addressed as honourables or distinguished.

The world of the unknown outside politics and public office would make such politicians do just about anything to continue to benefit, including jumping from the opposition to the ruling party. They have no job other than politics.

7.Lack of sustainable party structure

Whereas we can blame the individuals as being responsible for the weakness of the opposition, it should be understood that the political parties themselves act as mere Special Purpose Vehicles, SPVs, to acquire power either as vote-seeking or office-seeking parties. Having a sustainable party structure is not the same as having an organogram that outlines offices and schedules. It is about having an entity that is firm and grounded on norms and values that ideas are hoisted on. It is also about adherence to organisational protocol. It is this lack of accountable structure that leads to the collapse of the opposition parties. It is this same absence of sustainable party structure that makes an individual or just a handful of them to hijack the affairs of a political party and threaten to destroy it, even while already in bed with the ruling party.

8.Absence of internal party democracy

Stemming from the above, there is a discount of internal democracy in political parties in Nigeria. It is an affliction and it runs through all the parties. The consequence of this is that politicians of quintessential persona who espouse virtues of decency and uprightness are thrown aside for others who have the means or connection. Even party constitution and electoral guidelines put together by the parties are not adhered to. This leads to the emergence of candidates who do not have serious bonding to the parties, hence they easily migrate to the ruling party once they win elections. In fact, some politicians in ruling parties, having lost tickets, buy their way into opposition parties, clinch tickets, win elections and jump right back to the ruling party, thereby weakening the base of the so-called opposition.

9.State capture by ruling party leaders

Another major contributing factor to the weakening of the opposition is the issue of state capture by the ruling party operatives. What happens is that every aspect of government and its institutions is compromised to work for and be subservient to the ruling party. The judiciary, legislature, intelligence services, senior civil servants, et al become malleable to the dictates of the ruling party or what is known as the cabal around the presidency. Because of the fickle and fluid state of affairs, many do not have the stamina to stand against the might of the ruling party. Blackmail, intimidation, abuse of court processes and other such unholy acts are used to whip opposition politicians in line. This asphyxiates the political space where the opposition wants to play and, therefore, renders discombobulate, whatever meaningful attempts at raising the bar of opposition against the ruling party.

10.Loss of faith electoral umpire

The biggest elephant in the room is the electoral umpire and its shenanigans. Were the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, above board in its functions, politicians generally (and not just opposition) would be confident in their capacity to mobilise, go into the field and contest without fear of being rigged out. The February 25, 2004 Report extracted from the 2001-2009 Archive of the US State Department, that said “the elections (of 2003) also resulted in the ruling PDP winning 70 percent of the seats in the national legislature and 75 percent of the state governorship,” was a mere reference to the power of rigging carried out by the PDP with the connivance of INEC. Today’s APC and INEC are in bed, just as PDP was. But nothing lasts forever. Because of the electoral process that condones cheating, use of money to compromise officials and might of the ruling party to rig at will in collusion with the election management body, opposition politicians drift to the ruling party where they are sure to exploit the benefits of bandwagon. Because of loss of faith in the ability of the EMB to be above board, opposition politicians seek shelter in the ruling party where they are almost always certain to win and return to office. As a former chairman of APC unashamedly once said, “once you join our party, all sins are forgiven.”

The Amotekun Corps has mobilised over 2,000 personnel to flush out bandits and other criminals operating in forests in the South-West region.

Ogun and Osun states top the list with targeted 1,000 recruits each, while Oyo recruited 480 men last October as part of efforts to curtail the influx of bandits.

The state commanders of the corps confirmed to The PUNCH on Tuesday that more men would soon be recruited to strengthen the South-West Security Network and enhance its operations against bandits, kidnappers and other hoodlums hibernating in South-West forests and reserves.

The targeted operation follows reports of increased kidnapping incidents and other illicit activities by bandits from the Sahel countries and other shady characters.

The National Bureau of Statistics revealed in a survey last December that Nigerians paid a total of N2.23tn as ransom between May 2023 and April 2024.

According to the NBS’s Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report, an estimated 51.89 million crime incidents were recorded across Nigerian households in the reference period.

The survey indicated that the South-West recorded 6.9m crime incidences during the period.

The North-West region had the highest incidence of crime, with 14.4m cases reported, followed by the North-Central region with 8.8m incidents.

To bolster security in the southwest, the Ondo State Amotekun Corps Commander, Adetunji Adeleye, explained that “Amotekun rangers” had been deployed in the forests to evict the bandits.

Adeleye, who is also the Chairman of the Amotekun Commanders in the southwest, stated, “The Amotekun rangers are in the forest already to flush out the bandits who may want to use our forests as hideouts. Like I do say, no room for bandits in Ondo State.”

He, however, sought more support for the corps in terms of weapons and other security hardware.

‘’What they provided for us is what we are using and that is what we will continue to use. Automatic weapons are on the exclusive list and we will not go near there.

“I would also say we want technology for tracking the location of the criminals and other gadgets to enhance our operational capability and improve intelligence gathering. These are the major areas where we would want to improve upon.”

The Ogun Amotekun Corps Commander, Brig-Gen. Alade Adedigba (retd.), disclosed that his men, numbering over 1,000, had been given the marching orders to move against bandits occupying forests in the state.

Adedigba announced plans to recruit more men, adding that Governor Dapo Abiodun has also given a directive that an additional 1,000 operatives should be recruited to further boost the efficiency of the security outfit.

Speaking with one of our correspondents on Tuesday, the commander said, “Our current strength is over 1,000 and the governor on Saturday has also given a directive that an additional 1,000 officers should be recruited.

“All of these steps are geared towards strengthening the corps and make it much more responsive and combat any form of insecurity.”

The Corps Commander in Osun, Adekunle Omoyele, said the organisation would soon recruit about 1,000 new operatives in addition to the 320 men operating across the state.

Omoyele, who commended the state government for empowering Amotekun to prosecute offenders, said the corps personnel should be allowed to bear sophisticated weapons “since those criminals they would be contending with are also carrying dangerous arms.”

He noted, “We currently have 320 personnel but we plan to recruit 1,000 more. The process will commence soon. Our men will soon go for training and be properly placed to earn salaries, according to the civil service scale.

“We are interested in carrying sophisticated arms. The government should come up with a law that will grant us that opportunity,” Omoyele further said.

Commandant, Oyo Amotekun, Col. Olayinka Olayanju (retd.), in a conversation with The PUNCH, said the state, last October, recruited, trained and deployed 480 forest rangers.

The forest rangers, he said, had been trained and deployed to 25 local government areas of the state with a specific task to address kidnapping, banditry and other illegal activities in forests across the state.

Olayinka said Amotekun, in conjunction with Community-Based Security Oriented Groups, had stepped up border patrols.

He added that the community-based groups, traditional and opinion leaders have been tasked with surveillance and intelligence-gathering tasks, particularly those around settlements and the state’s forests.

“All the security agencies within the state, including the military, have been mobilised by Governor Seyi Makinde to be on red alert to respond appropriately to any threats. More resources mobilised include community-based security-oriented groups for surveillance and intelligence-gathering tasks.

“Furthermore, border patrol activities have been stepped up by my operatives, in conjunction with CBAG, as well as sensitisation efforts by the traditional and opinion leaders, particularly around settlements at the fridges of our forest resources is on the upwards trajectory,” Olayanju said.

The commanders of Amotekun across the southwest states also spoke on the desire to have their personnel equipped with sophisticated arms to deal with banditry and other forms of criminality.

Speaking, Olayanju said the Oyo Amotekun had consistently sought such approval for its personnel, adding that authorities kept responding that such approval would require amendments to the laws of the country.

“The state had been seeking approval for Amotekun operatives to use sophisticated weapons since 2023 and recently a reminder on the issue was activated and tabled before the appropriate superior authority. However, I’m aware it’s a constitutional issue that would require amendments to the LFRN,” Olayanju said.

Commenting on the need for sophisticated arms by the corps, the Ekiti commander of the corps, Brig. Gen. Olu Adewa (retd), noted, “It is part of the Act which established the Amotekun that they can bear light arms. So, from the outset, the corps has always operated that way.”

Adewa revealed plans to recruit more personnel for the security outfit of the state government.

Adewa said, “They (state government) said they would recruit. We are waiting, we are eager, we are on it. This will be made public.”

Disclosing that the outfit had a little over 300 personnel, the commander said the threat perception and the financial capacity of the southwest states would determine the operations of the corps in each state.

He said, “Amotekun in Ekiti State is barely 300. The threat perception or threat level, the purse and the land mass of the different states are different. These are the factors.”

The Ekiti State Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration had done a lot to keep Ekiti communities and people safe.

Olatunbosun said, “We are doing a lot and we will continue to do a lot. We are investing in technology to prevent crime anywhere in the state.

‘’The state government has also ensured collaboration among the conventional security agencies and the local arm to work together to ensure the safety of lives and property.”

He touted the deployment of Agro Rangers and Peace Corps as a game-changer in the state’s security strategy.

He stated, “The establishment of the Agro Rangers to join the Amotekun and the Peace Corps that we have as the local detachment of our security to collaborate with the conventional ones is also part of the move.

‘’They understand the terrain, they understand the environment and the nooks and crannies of the state and that has helped.

“We have equally established a security committee that involves both the traditional rulers and the leadership of the local councils, which involves all security networks. We have done that to make Ekiti a safer place for everybody.’’

Speaking further, the commissioner noted that the governor had also secured the support of the military and police at the federal level.

He added, “Mr Governor went ahead to meet with the security chiefs at the national level to get their support, which has assisted in a way with the deployment of the military in some strategic places in Ekiti State.

“Apart from that, we have established a task force of security that we have deployed in some of our farm cluster areas where we have our farm settlements across Ekiti ie Emure/Ise axis, Iyemero/Ayede axis, Oke Ako axis, Erio/Aramoko axis, Ikere/Igbara Odo axis etc, we have ensured that we have established a task force patrolling those places.

“The cluster farming, the agricultural revolution and mechanised farming that we are involved in have equally made it impossible for anybody to have a hiding place in Ekiti.

“We are clearing more farms, which have made those areas a no-go area for anybody willing to operate in the dark, either bandits, kidnappers or their likes,” the commissioner stated.

THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate in the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State, Asue Ighodalo, yesterday, called their witnesses to justify their claim that the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the election, Sen. Monday Okpebholo, did not win the election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Led in evidence by PDP counsel, Abiodun Owonikoko, SAN, one of the witnesses, Kennedy Osifo, tendered agents’ copies of the election results for 76 polling units in Ward II of Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of the state, where he alleged four electoral irregularities.

He told the tribunal that irregularities were observed when the agents’ copies were examined alongside the certified true copies of the results of BVAS accreditation report obtained from the INEC’s IREV portal, and that the discrepancies had been highlighted in his witness statement on oath, which he urged the tribunal to adopt in evidence in the case.

Osifo said he was the PDP local government collation officer in the poll and alleged that the INEC relied on incorrect scores to announce the final result of the election.

When cross-examined, Osifo said his testimonies were based strictly on the two documents and not on contacts with the agents.

On his part, Adebayo Ogedegbe told the tribunal of irregularities in 45 units across Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of the state and claimed to be the party collation officer for the local government, testified that the INEC computed incorrect scores that negated the records in the certified true copies.

For Owan West Local Government Area, Lucky Aroye, tendered agents’ copies of results in nine units where he said overvoting took place.

Aroye said there were no prior recordings of sensitive materials in seven units of the local government area, urging the tribunal to adopt his statement on oath as evidence in the case.

Meanwhile, Kalu Agabi, SAN, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN and Ijala, SAN, counsel to the INEC, Okpebholo and the APC respectively objected the admissibility of the tendered documents, but reserved their grounds to the final written addresses.

Justice Wilfred Kpochi, the Chairman of the tribunal in his ruling, said the documents were provisionally admitted in evidence.

The first petitioner’s witness from Ikpoba-Okha testified that he was neither an agent at any of the polling units or wards nor directly involved in the election process but that his role was limited to observing and personally examining the results in a “situation room.”

The PW2 from Akoko-Edo council said he was not a polling unit or ward agent but coordinated all the results from 241 polling units and 10 wards in a single day.

Under cross-examination, PW1 admitted that the sensitive BIVAS materials were not available for inspection in the situation room.

The tribunal adjourned till today for continuation of hearing.

Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) of University Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centres (FMCs) have raised the alarm that tertiary health hospitals are facing threats of becoming empty as doctors, nurses and other skilled health workers leave in droves due to poor remuneration.

They lamented that despite the federal government investment in health infrastructure, the trend has continued unabated and affecting healthcare delivery in the country.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Professor Wasiu Adeyemo and the Chief Medical Director (CMD), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Professor Jesse Abiodun and others raised the alarm at the 2025 budget defence session before the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions.

LUTH CMD, Professor Adeyemo, informed the committee that the rate at which medical workers are leaving the country is alarming, hence the need to act fast to address the situation.

He said, “People resign, retire not even retirement, resignation almost every day. Yes. In the next one or two years, we are going to have all our hospitals empty. We need to do something about remuneration of all the health care workers.

“Otherwise, government is putting a lot of money in infrastructure, and we are going to have empty hospitals. The major reason why people leave is for economic reasons. Consultants are earning less than $1,000”.

Giving details of the Hospital’s 2024 budget performance, the CMD informed that, they had a total budget of N19.2 billion out of which personnel has N13.57 billio and a total overhead of N33.2 million.

He added, “In terms of performance and utilization total overhead was 100 percent as of December. For the total personnel, 91 percent performance but for the capital project 45 percent. So outstanding is 55 percent. November and December are released today we would cover maybe about 85 percent”.

Prof. Adeyemo while responding to an observation by members of the committee on personnel performance said that the hospital had 95 percent personnel performance because of payment of benefits and other activities due to resignation and retirements in the year.

The CMD added, “For the proposal for 2025, a total budget of 32.7 billion, out of which a total overhead which is better than that of last year. Personnel is 20.3. I think it’s 13 last year”.

Similarly, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof. Abiodun, lamented the delay in the release of budgeted funds to the hospital which he said had adversely affected its operations.

Giving the details of UCH’s 2024 budget, he said it has a capital appropriation of N5,593,110,394. He however informed that only 38 percent of the funds was released leaving a balance of 72 percent left.

He said, “We have the 72% left. Yes, we actually were among the last people to be batched for payment, and the payment started coming in actually in this December. We were able to even utilize this 38 percent because we had already done the cash plan before the release.

“For 2025, we are proposing N4,387,763,661 for capital. This is a bit less than what we had in 2024. And that’s because of this envelope system, what we’re given, we have to work with it.

“The overhead, we have N690,006,464 only. There’s a bit of increase over that of 2024 because of the outrageous bills we are getting from Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company”.

In his remark earlier, the Chairman, House Committee on Health Institutions, Hon. Patrick Umoh, charged the CMDs of University Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centres (FMCs) to be thorough in their presentations in order to provide a clear picture of their situations.

He said, “The reality is that you must extract the proposal made by Mr. President as it affects your medical centre. It should be part of your budget, your presentation. The report of the 2024 budget performance and 2025 budget proposal is given provisional approval for now”.

Hon. Umeh lamented the precarious situation facing tertiary health institutions in the country.

The chairman ruled that while committee could not attend to all the health institutions on the same day, it would collect all their correspondences and submissions from the outstanding teaching hospitals to work on for further deliberations.

[DailyTrust]