The Federal Government of Nigeria has informed that the Isolation Centre in Abuja will be ready in April amid fears of a Coronavirus outbreak.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, revealed this in an interview reporters on Friday while responding to the remarks of Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, on the poor state of the facility located in Gwagwalada, a suburb in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to Ehanire, funds approved for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, had been disbursed to improve the Isolation Centre in Abuja with the contractor asked to fast-track the upgrade of the facility.
“They said it will be finished by next month. So they used the building which they wanted to use for intensive care. It has been furnished and prepared, staff have been trained and all protocols have been established.
“The Senate President went there when the finishing touches were being put and I think he expected that the bed was already made.
“Another team visited the next day, they saw that it was already completed and the Chairman of the Senate Committee said there has been a lot of improvement.
“All monies approved got to the NCDC, but had to go through a lot of process, but the NCDC had made procurement on credit from its regular suppliers, they were given materials on credit, but many of them have been settled,” Ehanire said.