DELTA State House of Assembly Committee on Health has charged Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the state government under its jurisdiction to be steadfast in implementation of budgetary provisions in the health sector.
Chairman of the committee, Hon Ferguson Onwo, who gave the charge during a two day interactive sessions with heads of various health institutions in the state, also called for clean financial records by the MDAs at all times.
The Lawmaker said the Committee expects optimal budgetary performance of the MDAs in 2024, stressing that the state government is committed to meeting up with the health needs of Deltans.
Hon Onwo who represents Isoko South 2 Constituency in the House, explained that the “Performance Review “meeting with the MDAs was a part of the oversight functions of the committee as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“As Lawmakers we have constitutional right to oversight and checkmate the activities of Ministries, Department and Agencies of the state government.
“The essence of the oversight is not to witch-hunt anyone but to promote good governance in the state so as to ensure the MDAs perform optimally for the benefit of Deltans”, Onwo said.
He stressed that the health sector is key in the success story of the MORE agenda of the Sheriff Oborevwori’s led administration and enjoined the top officials of the various health institutions to live up to their responsibilities.
Hon Onwo emphasized the need for them to access funds already appropriated to the institutions and to always strive to render quality services to Deltans.
Franked by some other members of the committee including Hon Festus Okoh, Perkins Umukoro and Matthew Omonade, the Lawmaker also stressed on the need for them to be prudent in their expenditure and to secure approvals from relevant authorities before spending in line with the provisions of the law.
He highlighted some of the observations from the records of each Institution, even as he spoke on the issue of keeping detailed financial records so as to avoid ambiguity and discrepancies.
While commending some of the Institutions for accessing their budgetary allocation for the year, Hon Onwo urged them to make good use of appropriated funds in addressing challenges faced.
He further charged them to improve on their Internally Generated Revenue, IGR performances and also prepare for the next budget defence season with the Committee
Those appeared before the Committee, were the Permanent Secretary, Hospitals Management Board, HMB, Dr. Paul Okubor, Chairman and Director General, Delta State Contributory Health Commission, Dr Augustine Obidi and Dr Isaac Akpoveta, Chief Medical Director, Asaba Specialist Hospital, Dr. Peace Ighosevwe, as well as officials of Delta State College of Health Technology, Ufuoma, Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara and Primary Health Care Development Agency.
