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With its first kidney transplant successfully performed last week, Afe Babalola Multi-system Hospital in Ado-Ekiti Ekiti State is gradually carving a niche for itself as a centre of medical excellence. Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF reports that, with the achievement in this specialised area of medicine, Nigeria would, any time soon, save the billions of Naira she has been spending on medical tourism.

At almost became a moribund case, but it ultimately ended in praises. The patient, who came entirely on his own to Afe Babalola Multi-system Hospital in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, on April 12, had been critically ill since February-almost at the point of death.

The procedure was carried out on the 46-year-old man, who is a player in the country’s ever-dynamic entertainment industry (name withheld), having been diagnosed to be hypertensive as far back as 2017 and had not been passing urine in the last six months as a result of which he had difficulty breathing. He also required regular dialysis to keep him alive.

Before coming to Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), the top celebrity who did not want his name in print had spent quality time in a health care facility in the state where he was treated. But the treatment was truncated by an industrial action, which made it impossible for him to continue his dialysis procedure.

However, out of sympathy for his critical condition, one of the doctors at the facility gave him two options: either to proceed to another health care facility in Ekiti or better still, to go to India for kidney transplantation.

Convinced that there was no need to go as far as India, another doctor advised the patient to try ABUAD hospital with the assurance that if the patient took to his advice, the patient would not come back to the earlier facility because of the quality of equipment, personnel and service available at the new teaching hospital.

When the patient got to ABUAD in April, he was impressed with the way he was attended to after which he proceeded to make enquiries about kidney transplantation in ABUAD, a teaching hospital that commenced operation about three-and-a-half years ago. Pronto, he started looking for kidney donors, but he was not immediately lucky to get one.

His words: “When I brought the first prospective donor, he was found not to be fit to donate. I then brought in the second prospective donor. Again, he was found not to be fit. Then I brought in a third, my brother-in-law (name withheld).

“After all the screenings, the third prospect was found to be fit. We were all happy and convinced that we were getting a solution to the problem. It was then the series of a counselling sessions for us both, the donor and recipient, began. We were severally counselled.”

Dr Stephen Olawale Oguntola, the Coordinator of the Transplant Programme and Lead Nephrologist with the ABUAD Multi-System Hospital noted that “the transplant was done simultaneously on Wednesday, October 13, using a dedicated twin-transplant theatre right here in this Hospital, thus making it the first successful kidney transplant in Ekiti/Ondo axis of the country.

Read Also: Afe Babalola: ABUAD will be best in the world

“The kidney function started improving right inside the theatre with the new kidney producing 2.3 litres of urine before the end of the surgery, which lasted for five hours, 15 minutes. Thereafter, the kidney function has continued to make a sustained improvement.

“We are very happy about the way both the donor and recipient have responded to the procedure. Both of them are in very high spirits. In fact, the donor was discharged on October 20 and with the look of things, the recipient will be discharged in a couple of days to start his normal life after the transplant.”

The consultant nephrologist, thereafter, called on members of the public to avail themselves of the facilities and equipment available in ABUAD Multi-System Hospital, stressing that “ABUAD is an enclave of endless possibilities.”

Narrating his experience, the lucky patient who had been to the Indian Embassy thrice but could not get a visa because of the COVID-19 pandemic was full of gratitude to ABUAD and the medical team that attended to him.

“When I got here for the first time, I was surprised that a lawyer could put in place a gigantic hospital such as this. At some point, I asked myself how a lawyer could think of this type of thing for humanity. This has endeared me to him the more. But for him, I would have died.

“The equipment here are unparalleled. The Dialysis chairs here are very comfortable. When you sit on them, the next thing for you is to quickly fall asleep. The workers are warm, nice and caring.

“My prayer for Baba Afe is that he should live longer. If we have more people like him in this country, things would be better. Aare Afe Babalola is comfortable. He just wants to help humanity. He is a good man.”

The patient, who was throwing banters with people around, expressed appreciation to his brother-in-law, who, according to him, did the unimaginable by donating his kidney for him to live.

“It is only those who genuinely love others that can do what he did. I have since been sharing my pleasant experience with people that ABUAD Multi-System Hospital is the place to be. I have been referring people here. I advise people with kidney problems to make their way to Afe Babalola Hospital. This place is better and it is not as expensive as people think. And in any case, what can be more expensive than a man’s life?”

Commenting on the successful kidney transplant, Babalola said: “This is a milestone for ABUAD, but I am not surprised because we have quality equipment that are not available in most parts of Africa. No wonder then that major health stakeholders have acknowledged our hospital as the best well-equipped in sub-Saharan Africa.

“It gives me immense joy because we have succeeded in convincing people that nothing is impossible here. Our prices are affordable. We have the equipment and well-trained and experienced personnel. There is, therefore, no need for anyone to go abroad for any treatment whatsoever.  Anything and everything can be done here. I am happy that my dream of having a functional university has been realised before my very eyes,” he said.

The above was not the first medical achievement recorded by ABUAD. In March this year, it also scooped another feat in abdominal surgery with the successful procedure on the first Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (EVAR) in Nigeria. The procedure, which was undertaken by the hospital, was carried out by a multi-disciplinary team of experts at the institution, led by Dr Hammed Ninalowo and assisted by Dr Yemi Johnson and Dr Dave Dhiren on a patient with an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

In another successful open-heart surgery in May, ABUAD had carried out an open heart surgery on a female patient, during which a large mass was removed from the left side chamber of the patient’s heart. The lady, who developed sudden breathlessness from a condition known as ‘left atrial myxoma,’ was brought to ABUAD where she was treated as an emergency.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday gave the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) the go-ahead to take over the reconstruction of 21 federal roads across the country.

This was disclosed after the weekly virtual meeting of the FEC, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the council meeting, the Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola the selected 21 roads are 1804.6 kilometres.

According to him, this is in line with Executive Order No. 007 of 2019 cited as the Companies Income Tax (Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme) Order, 2019 (“EO7 of 2019” or “the Scheme”), signed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

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Dangote Group was the first to take advantage of the EO7 of 2019 to fix the Obajana-Kabba road from its income tax.

The Nation reports the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had suspended its earlier planned nationwide strike that was to hold on October 11th to give negotiations a chance, after the NNPC warned that the strike could disrupt fuel supplies.

NUPENG had called the strike to protest against the poor state of roads in the country, saying the situation endangers the lives of drivers.

The Minister said it was a strategic intervention under the Federal Government Road Infrastructure and Refreshment Tax Credit Scheme.

Fashola further explained that under Executive Order 7, it allows the private sector to deploy in advance the taxes they would pay for infrastructure development.

He said nine of the selected projects are in North Central, three in North East, two in North West, two in South East, three in South-South and two in South West.

Details shortly…

Gunmen on Wednesday morning shot dead a vigilance member in Abba in Nwangele Local Government Area of Imo State.

The victim, Fidelis Nnadi, was said to have been gunned down by the hoodlums along Okwelle- Umuezealaibe road.

He was said to have left his village Ogwuaga to Okwelle to buy some items when he was spotted by a gang of gunmen passing by the road.

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The gunmen, it was gathered, had kidnapped a mother and child elsewhere and were passing through the community when they ran into him.

They were said to have identified him as a security agent and shot him at close range immediately.

Details Shortly…

Representative of Akpabuyo Constituency in the Cross River House of Assembly, Mrs. Elizabeth Ironbar, is dead.

She died in the early hours of Wednesday after a protracted illness according to family sources.

The second term lawmaker was elected under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP).

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She was one of the eight Assembly members that refused to move to the All Progressives Congress(APC) with Governor Ben Ayade.

Late Ironbar will be remembered for insisting the Chief Judge of Cross River Justice Akon Ikpeme should be confirmed despite the popular notion that she is an indigene by marriage and not birth.

She became the second Assembly member to die in the current dispensation.

Details shortly…

There is no plan to end petrol subsidy for now, the Federal Government  said yesterday.

Finance,  Budget and National Planning Minister Mrs. Zainab Ahmed said provision has been made for the first six months of next year.

She explained that subsidy payment would stop since complete deregulation of the downstream oil and gas sector will start by July 2022.

The minister stated this at a panel session during the 27th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#27) in Abuja on Monday.

“In the 2022 budget, we only factored in subsidy for the first half of the year; the second half of the year, we are looking at complete deregulation of the sector, saving foreign exchange and potentially earning more from the oil and gas industry, “ Ahmed said.

Although The  Nation had reported that no specific provision was made for subsidy payment in the 2022 budget, a top official of the   Finance Ministry,  said yesterday that the government was banking on extra-budgetary expenses for the purpose.

“Money to fund petrol subsidy will be drawn from a special account domiciled in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF),” the official explained.

At the event, Prof. Doyin Salami, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC), described subsidy payment as illegal. Also, Director-General, Debt Management Office(DMO) Patience Oniha told participants that the government has so far issued N1.5 trillion promissory notes to its creditors.

Salami said he had argued for a long time that subsidy needed to go since the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) made the payment illegal.

The  EAC  chairman said: “  The  PIA essentially makes illegal to pay petrol subsidy. Yes, there is a period where NNPC(Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) and the new regulatory agencies must calibrate themselves, but at the end of this period – and I think it is about six months, which explains why the minister has said for the first half of the year, there is a provision.

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“My view will be if we could get it done sooner than that, it will be excellent. It releases money. The key point is simply this: we are now, any which way, at the tail end of that conversation, except if we choose not to obey the law. My sense is we will obey the law and subsidy will be gone.”

NNPC, the only importer of petrol,  deducts subsidy payment from oil and gas proceeds due to the federal, state, and local governments since no provision was made for it in the 2021 budget.

In seven months, petrol subsidy payments gulped N714 billion.

Explaining the N1.5 trillion promissory notes issued by government creditors, Oniha, added: “We can’t talk about debt alone, we must also talk about revenues.”

The DMO boss explained that “when you borrow and invest  monies wisely, it will enhance growth and development”

She added that that was “why we(government)   issued promissory notes of N1.5 trillion approved by the National Assembly. “

Oniha said: “We can’t talk about debt alone; we must also talk about revenues. When you borrow and invest these monies wisely, it will enhance growth and development which is why we have issued promissory notes of N1.5 trillion approved by the National Assembly.”

She noted that “to include any debt data in the country’s debt stock, it has to be approved by the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council,

The DMO  chief admitted that Nigeria’s debt service to revenue is high and should not be at the level that it is.  She therefore called for multiple ways of growing revenue to invest in the future.

She said Nigeria’s Debt Management Strategy “provides a framework on how to undertake borrowings in the country”.

Another panelist, Taiwo Oyedele, suggested that “if we want to optimise, we have to harmonise multiple taxation and multiplicity of collection agencies to ensure that revenue collection mechanisms are boosted.”

Oyedele, who is  Africa Tax lead at the PwC,    disagreed with some policies of the government which allows about 60 MDAs(Ministries, Departments, and Agencies) to generate revenue.

According to him,  “it is impossible for that number of agencies to be involved in revenue collection. They   should concentrate on providing services.”

Unless there is a quick resolution of the row between the Federal Government and states over deductions from the Federation Account, many states may not be able to pay salary this month.

Governors have rejected their September allocation until the disagreement is resolved.

Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Dr. Kayode Fayemi indicated yesterday that governors are angry.

He said: “We are dealing with the issue. We would find a resolution to it. As far as states are concerned, they do not accept that funds belonging to Federation Account could just be arbitrarily deducted without the input of the states, and that’s why we are insisting that until this is clarified, we would rather leave the money in the pool until we have all agreed on the direction.”

He spoke on the sidelines of the 27th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.

The issue is the commencement of deduction of the consultant fees from the September allocation in the Federation Account.

The consultant fee is believed to be $416 million, which is a percentage of the Paris Club loan refund that they assisted the states to get back from the Federal Government after the states overpaid.

It was learnt that the Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning Mrs Zainab Ahmed, bowed to pressure, having been served the mandamus judgment obtained by the consultants.

The judgment, it was gathered, directed the minister to directly deduct the consultancy fees from the states’ allocation from the Federation Account.

A source said: “The Finance Minister’s hands were tied by the judgment. She also got an advise from Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami.”

A Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) member familiar with the issue said: “Some years back, state governments overpaid their remittances of their Paris Club debt to the Federal Government. To recover their money, state governments individually hired consultants to help them recover their money from the Federal Government.”

He said while the states individually had an agreement with the consultants, over time, the states came together under the umbrella of the Nigerian Governors Forum to harmonise their claims and thus paved the way for the consultants to also “amalgamate” as a united body to fight for the refund to the state governments.

The consultants, the official stated, succeeded in recovering the amount from the Federal Government and the monies were paid directly to the individual state governments.

However, after the consultants won their case in court, the states collected their refunds and never bothered to pay the consultants.

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The consultants in turn, approached the court and sued the states to pay the agreed percentage of the total sum returned to them by the Federal Government.

The official said the federal government was joined in the suit against the states by the consultants in order to get their money directly from the monthly FAAC allocations of the states, if the judgement ended in their favour.

In accordance with their expectation, when judgement was delivered, it was in favour of the consultants. The state government did not appeal the judgement until the period for appeal elapsed.

Thereafter, the consultants approached the Ministry of Finance to be paid directly from the FAAC allocations to the state governments the agreed percentage of the total sum agreed upon between the states and the consultants.

When that did not happen, the consultants went to court again and got a mandamus compelling the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay the consultants.

Another area of contention between the federal and state governments is the exact amount to be paid the consultants. What is not in doubt however, is that the amount runs into over a trillion Naira.

This development, along with other judgement debts were presented to President Muhammadu Buhari, who authorized that a 10-year Promissory Note be issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Debt Management Office (DMO) to offset most, if not all of the judgement debts.

The Promissory Note has been issued and the consultants can either hold on to the promissory notes until they mature in 10 years or they can redeem them for cash from their banks.

Having settled with the consultants through the issuance of promissory notes, the Minister of Finance and the Permanent Secretary have started withdrawing portions of the debt from the states’ accounts and paying same to the consultants in six special accounts to be drawn down over a 10 year period.

Each account is opened in favour of the six consultants, two representing the 36 states and four others representing the 774 local government Areas of the country.

Following the action taken by the Minister of Finance and Permanent Secretary to commence the direct deduction of what is owed the consultants from the states’ monthly allocation, the states, it was learnt, have rushed to President Muhammadu Buhari to secure a political settlement.