FMC Yenegua Projects Stalled as 2025 Capital Fund Release Delay Bites— Medical Director

Oru Leonard 

Omietimi: “We should not pretend; things have not been too good lately”

The Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Dr. James Enimi Omietimi, has raised concerns over the impact of the non-release of the Centre’s 2025 capital allocation, saying the development has negatively affected the progress of ongoing projects and the overall operations of the medical facility.

Dr. Omietimi made this known when he received the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) team conducting physical verification of selected Federal Government projects in the South-South region.

The FRC verification team, led by the Head of the Strategic Communication Directorate of the Commission, Mr. Bede Ogueri Anyanwu, visited the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, as part of the Commission’s ongoing exercise to ascertain the level of implementation of selected capital projects funded by the Federal Government.

Speaking during the engagement, the Medical Director said the delay in the release of the 2025 capital funds had made it difficult for the Centre to sustain the momentum of work on its ongoing projects.

According to him, the situation has also exposed the institution to operational challenges, making it increasingly difficult to provide the expected level of healthcare services to residents of Bayelsa State and neighbouring communities.

“We should not pretend because things have not been too good lately,” Dr. Omietimi said, stressing that the realities confronting healthcare institutions on the ground were sometimes different from what was being portrayed in the media.

He explained that the day-to-day realities of running a tertiary healthcare institution were demanding, adding that the Centre had been struggling to keep the system functioning effectively amid the prevailing financial constraints.

The Medical Director also expressed concern over the changing attitude of some residents towards orthodox medicine, noting that some patients now resort to traditional medicine practitioners before seeking professional medical attention.

He said many patients only return to FMC Yenagoa when their health conditions have deteriorated and require advanced medical intervention.

Dr. Omietimi appealed to the Federal Government to urgently intervene by ensuring adequate funding for the Centre, particularly the timely release of capital allocations, to enable the institution complete its ongoing projects and provide effective healthcare services.

Earlier, the leader of the FRC verification team, Mr. Bede Ogueri Anyanwu, explained that the purpose of the exercise was to ascertain the extent to which funds appropriated and released for Federal Government projects were being utilised and to ensure that the projects deliver value to Nigerians.

Anyanwu said the exercise was part of the Commission’s statutory responsibility of promoting transparency, accountability and prudent management of public funds, in line with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007.

He emphasised that the presence of the FRC team at FMC Yenagoa was not intended to witch-hunt the management of the Centre or any government institution, but to establish the facts on the ground regarding the implementation of the selected projects.

“Our mission is to promote transparency, accountability and prudent management of public funds as contained in the mandate of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007,” Anyanwu said.

He added that the team was particularly interested in determining whether funds released for the projects had been appropriately utilised and whether the projects were achieving the intended objectives for which they were approved.

According to him, physical verification provides an opportunity for the Commission to establish the actual status of projects, identify challenges affecting implementation and ensure that government investments translate into tangible benefits for citizens.

The FRC team comprised Mrs. Anthonia Danjuma of the Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate; Miss Into-Sam Audu of the Investigation Unit; Mr. Cyril Longpam of the Secretariat; and Mr. George Nwari, representing the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, with Anyanwu serving as team lead.

The team inspected selected projects at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, including the Renovation and Expansion of the Mother and Child Group Complexes; Purification and Renovation of Pipe-Borne Water Facilities for the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa; Continued Construction of the House Officers/Interns Block, comprising a two-storey building with 36 flats; and the Construction of a Two-Storey Resident Doctors’ Quarters Block.

The verification exercise is expected to enable the Commission to assess the physical status of the projects, compare the level of work executed with the funds appropriated and released, and identify factors responsible for any delays or challenges encountered in their implementation.

The exercise also forms part of the FRC’s broader responsibility of ensuring that public resources are deployed efficiently, transparently and in accordance with approved government programmes, with the ultimate objective of promoting value for money and improved service delivery to Nigerians.

The visit provided an opportunity for the management of FMC Yenagoa to present its concerns over funding and project implementation, while the FRC team gathered relevant information and inspected the projects to establish their actual status on the ground.