The Senate on Thursday threatened to stop the budget of the Federal College of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (FEDCAM) of Nigeria over non-productivity.
The Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary), Senator Banibo Ipalibo, disclosed this when she led members of the committee on an oversight visit to the college in Abuja.
The committee also visited other health facilities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
FEDCAM was established in 2009 with a mandate to train alternative medicine practitioners in health care delivery services, carry out clinical works, and provide an alternative method of treating ailments and research.
Ipalibo expressed disappointment that nothing was happening in the institute.
She said: “There are no students, the staff members are not coming to work and the building they rented is unused.
“It is supposed to be a key area in alternative medicine, it is such a place we could train our children but none of that is happening there and as such, the committee will look into that.
“We will ensure that no budget is released and no taxpayers’ money is wasted in such a project until the project comes back on stage and provides the services that this country needs.”
The college’s Chief Accountant, Mr. Abayomi Abiodun, told the lawmakers that there were 132 workers in the establishment.
He recalled that the Ministry of Health suspended the management staff and appointed an interim administrative team in 2011.
“From 2011 to 2019, FEDCAM was administered by the interim administrative team of the Ministry of Health.
“We have been trying to see how the college will come on board but unfortunately, last year, the ministry decided to place a hold and suspend the activities of the college.
“Without the principal leadership of this college, absolutely nothing can take place because the ministry has a way of doing its things.
“These and others are our challenges,” he stated.
