Rep. Yakub Buba (APC-Adamawa) has urged the Federal Government to set aside its policy of one Federal Medical Centre (FMC) per state and encourage building of medical centers across the country.
Buba, also Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs made the call when he spoke with newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.
The lawmaker spoke on the sideline of a public hearing on a bill for an Act to establish FMC Hong in Adamawa.
Buba who represents Gombi/Hong Federal Constituency in Adamawa, said that given the population of the country, every Local Government Area should have a FMC to cater for the health needs of the people.
The legislator said that the people of Hong had mobilised resources and built a state of the art hospital to meet their medical needs as well as that of their neighbours.
Buba said if any community comes up with a worthy health facility, the federal government should provide the manpower to manage such facilities as thousands of Nigerian medical graduates were unemployed.
“We mobilised support from different agencies of government, the private sector and have erected a multi-million naira health facility ready to be commissioned.
“All we are asking of the Ministry of Health is just the name because everything, every facility is there and the people of Hong have very high expectations in terms of naming the facility to meet its present status.
“I want to call on the Ministry of Health to set aside its policy of one FMC per state and try to encourage private-public partnership to put up more health facilities.
“Any local council or community that come together to put a facility that is befitting as a health centre should be taken over by the government to manage for the good of the people,” he said.
According to him, the policy is not a law and does not have the powers of such.
Buba also said that the population of the country has gone beyond the policy’s aim of one FMC per state.
The lawmaker said that the rating of Nigeria in terms of providing health services was poor as Nigeria ranked 187 out of 191 countries evaluated in the World Health Organisation report.
He said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended at least 20 medical centres per state, saying that the policy should not hinder health services for the people.
