Economy
Reps Express Displeasure Over FCT Primary Healthcare’s Budget Performance
Reps Express Displeasure Over FCT Primary Healthcare’s Budget Performance
Reps express displeasure over FCT primary healthcare’s vudget performance. The House of Representatives Committee on FCT Area Council and Ancillary Services has voiced disappointment over the 2023 budget performance of the Department of Primary Healthcare under the FCT Area Council Service Secretariat.
During an oversight visit, the Committee identified inconsistencies in the agency’s financial report and directed it to reconcile all relevant financial documents within seven days.
Additionally, the agency was instructed to submit the nominal roll and addresses of all 270 Primary Healthcare Centres in the FCT to the Committee’s Clerk.
Expressing concern over the situation, the Committee’s Deputy Chairman, Hon. Peter Akpanke, criticized the agency’s lack of efficiency. “As a health-related agency, you should be proactive in addressing health issues,” he stated. While acknowledging the agency’s request for increased funding, the lawmakers stressed that improvements in performance were necessary before additional allocations could be considered.
The Committee also emphasized the need to improve welfare packages for corps members working in the agency to enhance their contributions to the healthcare sector.
Budget Challenges and Calls for Increased Funding
Speaking on the agency’s financial situation, Dr. Ruqayya Wamakko, Executive Secretary of the FCT Primary Healthcare Board, revealed that the agency operates on an overhead cost of N4.8 million. She noted that since assuming office six months ago, she had been working on renovating the office for a better work environment.
“There was no inventory when I came,” Dr. Wamakko stated, adding that the agency currently has about 300 staff members, including nine senior management officials. She further appealed for more funding to support immunization awareness campaigns in local communities.
Concerns Over Budget Disbursement and Recruitment Issues
In a related development, the Committee’s visit to the FCT Area Council Service Commission uncovered irregularities in budget disbursement. Lawmakers expressed frustration after discovering that the agency did not receive its approved funds directly.
The Committee has now directed its Clerk to seek an explanation from the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) regarding this indirect disbursement process.
Providing further insights, Acting Administrative Secretary of the Commission, Mrs. Eunice Yakubu, disclosed that while N250 million was approved for overhead costs, only N240 million was disbursed. She clarified that the agency must apply to the FCDA for fund releases rather than receiving direct allocations.
Reps
Additionally, the Committee raised concerns over the agency’s failure to adhere to the federal character principle in its recruitment process.
It was revealed that the last recruitment exercise conducted by the agency took place in 2008.
Unpaid Pensions Raise Alarm
During another oversight visit to the FCT Area Council Pension Board, Director Suleiman Abdulrahman informed lawmakers that several pension payments remained outstanding, raising concerns over the welfare of retirees.
The Committee emphasized the importance of timely pension payments and called for greater transparency in budget implementation across all FCT agencies.
NNPC Ltd. HSE Chief Sets Tone For Industry-Wide Safety Standards
NNPC Ltd.’s Chief Health, Safety and Environment Officer, Tonye Alagba, has urged Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) personnel across the company to strengthen collaboration and build a unified HSE team.
Alagba, who made the call at the recent First Quarter 2026 HSE Council Meeting held in Abuja from 15th to 17th April, 2026, called for collective responsibility, strict compliance, and proactive prevention of HSE violations across all business units.
NNPC
NNPC Ltd. values strict HSE adherence across all its businesses and operations. The HSE Council Meeting signals the company’s broader intent to raise the bar for safety culture across Nigeria’s energy sector.
NNPC, SNEPCo, NCDMB Donate Geosciences Centre To UNILAG
NNPC Limited, in partnership with Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and the University of Lagos (UNILAG), commissioned and donated the newly built UNILAG Geosciences Centre of Excellence to the University on Friday.
Purposely built to strengthen geosciences education and research in Nigeria, the Centre was inaugurated by the Chief Upstream Investment Officer of NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services Ltd. (NUIMS), Olanrewaju Igandan, alongside the Managing Director of SNEPCo, Ronald Adams; Director of Capacity Building (NCDMB), Abayomi Bamidele; Lagos State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule; and the Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Professor Folasade Ogunsola.
The Centre boasts of a 250-seat auditorium, geoscience and instrumentation laboratories, a rock preparation workshop, hydrogeology, mineralogy, environmental geology, sedimentary and palaeoenvironmental sciences laboratories, a seismic interpretation room, a modern library, a digital museum, and collaborative spaces for students and researchers. It is also supported by a 600 kVA transformer, a 40 kVA solar power facility, and a field investigation coaster bus.
SNEPCo, NNPC
By connecting academia, industry, and government under one roof, the Centre provides Nigerian students and researchers with hands-on access to modern energy tools, reduces the oil and gas industry’s reliance on international markets for testing and training, and builds the in-country expertise Nigeria’s energy sector needs.
NNPC Limited remains committed to driving capacity building, supporting national development, and working with partners to secure a stronger energy future for Nigeria.
NNPC: Ministers Chart Course Gor West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP)
The Committee of Ministers for the West African Gas Pipeline Project met in Abuja on Friday, reaffirming its central role in West Africa’s regional energy agenda.
The meeting brought together ministers and high-level representatives from Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana, alongside officials from ECOWAS, the West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA) and West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo).
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, who opened the meeting, reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the long-term sustainability and expansion of the pipeline, adding that since its inception, the WAGP has transported over 613 million MMBtu of natural gas, with Nigeria accounting for more than 68 per cent of total volumes supplied to Benin, Togo, and Ghana.
NNPC
On his part, NNPC Limited’s Executive Vice President, Gas, Power & New Energy, Olalekan Ogunleye, emphasised the company’s active stewardship of Nigeria’s gas export commitments and its broader role in shaping regional energy cooperation across West Africa.
With gas throughput reaching approximately 80 million MMBtu in 2025, a 22 per cent rise on prior years, and discussions advancing on expanding pipeline capacity utilisation by 45 per cent in 2026, NNPC Limited remains at the centre of efforts to grow a credible, commercially viable regional gas market.
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