The House of Representatives on Wednesday moved to halt the alarming increase in medical tourism among public office holders in the country. In a bill sponsored by Hon. Sergius Ogun, the House is seeking to prohibit international trips for medical treatment by public officers without approval and strengthen health institutions for efficient service delivery.
While presenting the bill on the floor of the House, Hon. Ogun said the Bill which contained 13 clauses was necessitated by the serial abuse of opportunities by public officers who seek medical treatment abroad.
“These abuses are many, on the pretext of fabricated medical conditions, many public officials simply disappear from Nigeria and abdicate their duties for lengthy periods while their emoluments are paid for the period. Nigeria is also paying the bills for their medical tours.
“Even those who have not fabricated their conditions abandon their official duties on account of ailments that can be treated in Nigeria. It is said that hundreds of Nigerians daily embark on medical tours to countries in Europe, America and Asia; a great number of these Nigerians are public officials.
He lamented that the 2014 Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) annual report had quoted the Indian High Commission as saying Indian hospitals received 18,000 Nigerians on medical visa in 2012, stressing that these Nigerians spent about $260 million on those trips in one year.
“This gives us a picture of what Nigeria as a nation has sunk overall into medical tours by public officials and their kit and kin. There is urgent need to curtail this anomaly,’’ he added
