The Federal Medical Centre Katsina disbursed ₦88 million (Exactly 88,963,531.45) in ‘nameless transactions’. Not only is this a continuing trend with federal MDAs contravening principles of Open Contracting, but it has ethical considerations for a medical health centre.
- The Federal Medical Centre Katsina paid a total amount of ₦88 million in ‘invisible transactions’;
- The omission not only contravenes the open treasury portal transparency policy but raises ethical violations for a medical institute;
- Meanwhile, Katsina and the other Northern states still battle critical health situations;
- Not to mention the undescribed money could solve most health problems in the region.
Federal Medical Centre, Katsina paid JNC International limited, a medical equipment distribution company ₦88 million for ‘invisible transactions.’ The medical institute under the direction of Dr Sulaiman Bello Muhammad disbursed the funds in two installations on January 31st, data from the Open treasury portal showed.
This is not the first time government parastatals have disregarded principles of open contracting. Earlier, it was FMC Abeokuta that was stingy with procurement details, flaunting BPP requirements in the process. Infact, experts have long maintained this omission was reminiscent of fraudulent practices.
Today, we see the same trend of nameless transactions with FMC Katsina. A breakdown shows the first disbursement was 35 million naira, then 53 million naira. Interestingly, while FMC dispensed said funds into the same account, evidenced by matching payer codes- 521027022, both transactions differed in their payment numbers- 1000672033-3 and 1000672033-6.
Policy and ethical violations
Besides contravening the OTP’s transparency policy, these opaque transactions point to fiscal mismanagement by federal parastatals. The former demands full disclosure of all financial transactions from all MDAs. But even more important are the ethical considerations regarding this infringement. All Federal Medical centres in the country have a responsibility towards strengthening and improving the denigrated health system in the country. Anything short of this, say mismanaged funds as in the case of FMC Katsina, has huge ethical implications, especially because of the inherent health challenges Northern Nigeria faces on a daily basis.
Implications of mismanaged health funds amid struggling Northern Nigeria
Other than the ethical violations we established, the health crisis in the North is no joke; Katsina State being one of those North Eastern states. Infact, a 2018 report by the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health programme (MNCH2) showed Katsina’s antenatal attendance to be a dismal 33.40%; even worse was its immunisation coverage which stood at 6%. Its unmet need for child spacing fell to 29.5%.
More so, the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2018 MICS 5 reported that the estimate of the neonatal mortality rate is 39 per 1,000 live births; infant mortality rate is 70 per 1,000 live births. In all, 9 states in the northern region have higher Under 5 mortality rates than the national average: Nasarawa, Niger, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, and Zamfara.
While the need for the expenditure on ₦88m remains unknown, such funds could serve better towards fixing more pressing health concerns like some of the aforementioned ones.
Expert condemns lack of transparency and its danger to the health sector
Dr Foluke Olaniyi-George, the MD of Total Family Specialist Hospital, Ibadan and the Secretary of the Society of Family Physicians of Nigeria, (SOFPONG) Ibadan zone bemoaned the unspeakable situation. At the same time, she also demands total transparency in spending to the health sector.
“The deficiency in healthcare funding (in terms of the actual amount spent, and not on the amount budgeted) has birthed one of the major health-care crises of our time. As a medical practitioner, I feel frustrated reading reports like this. I wonder whether the people in question are not aware of the statistics or they just don’t care. Not to mention the unprecedented brain-drain that is upon us, as health professionals are actively seeking better conditions of service, security and career advancements.”