Over a month after news of expiration of the Public-Private-Partnership agreement between the Federal Capital Territory Administration and NISA Premier Hospital came to light, the fate of the management of Garki Hospital still remains unclear, as both parties are still battling for control of the medical facility.
Despite recent courts orders asking the FCT Administration to stay action on its planned repossession of the hospital, the FCTA seems determined to take full control of the health centre.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration had in March 2007 signed a 15-year concession agreement with NISA Premier Hospital Limited to manage the Garki General Hospital Abuja on a PPP arrangement.
Following the expiration of the agreement, the administration on March 1, 2022, gave the concessionaire notice to vacate and hand over the facility by April 1, 2022.
However, an Abuja High Court had on 30 March, 2022, restrained the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Bello, and the FCTA Administration from ejecting patients at the Garki Hospital and taking over the facility.
The interim order specifically restrained the FCTA, “their agents, privies representatives, servants or anyone whosoever acting on their behalf or instruction (s), from taking custody of Garki hospital Abuja and or from implementing, effecting or actualizing or giving any effect, implementation or actualization however to their 1st March 2022 letter or taking any action or steps (s) whatsoever as contained or expressed in their March 1, 2022 letter to the claimant/ Applicant on the concession agreement and the taking custody of Garki Hospital Abuja, pending the determination of the motion on notice.”
NISA Premier had claimed it had written severally to the FCT Administration for a review of the concession agreement without any response until March 1, 2022 when the FCT administration sent a letter terminating the concession agreement with the intention to take over the facility and hand over to another concessionaire.
Though the administration had assured of uninterrupted operation in hospital during the takeover, many are still worried of the implication of this on the 900 health workers employed by NISA Premier.
The FCT minister, Muhammad Bello, however refuted claims that the government would shut down the facility or disengage its workers, assuring that there would be no interruption of services at the hospital.
The minister in a statement by this Chief Press Secretary, Anthony Ogunleye explained that the notice served the concessionaire was to announce the expiration of the agreement and not its termination.
“The FCT Administration is not terminating the Garki District Hospital Concession. The situation is that an agreement was entered 15 years ago and mutually accepted by the FCT Administration and the Nisa Medical Group. It was an agreement with a commencement date and an expiration date.
“So, by virtue of the agreement, it is supposed to expire on Thursday, March 31, 2022, a natural termination. So, it’s not the FCT terminating the agreement. That’s what we need to understand”.
He also explained that the authorities were working “on a model where certain specialised departments would be run on PPP (Public-Private Partnership) arrangement. The whole idea is to expand the hospital space, to expand the specialty space. So, we are not terminating anything. It’s an agreement that is going to lapse,” he said.
He, however, did not foreclose the possibility of renewing the agreement with Nisa Medical Group.
The minister assured that FCTA officials and the Nisa Group would work on modalities moving forward, adding that whatever arrangement was reached thereafter will be in the best interest of patrons of the hospital and that shutting down the hospital would go contrary to government’s responsibility to provide health care to the people.
While both parties made good cases for their argument, understandably so, the public interest in the continued running of hospital should superseded any interest.
As soothing as the minister’s explanation may be, the Administration must reassure residents that the standards set at Garki Hospital in the past 15 years will not be compromised in any arrangement that will be implemented in the future.
What would have been expected was for the FCTA to examine the track record of the concessionaire rather than issuing a quit notice, especially at a time when many government hospitals are plagued with lack of requisite healthcare equipment to handle complex health challenges.
While not standing brief for Nisa Premier, it must be stated that it is on record that since 2007 Garki Hospital has not shut its doors for a single day not even during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
It is evident that the PPP model for Garki Hospital, provides the perfect module to be replicated in the Nigerian health sector, especially at this time when government finances are severely constrained.
As a matter of fact, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission in 2017 indicated the possibility of replicating the initiative to revive more fledgling healthcare centres in Abuja due to the success posted by the Nisa Premier-Garki Hospital partnership.
Similarly, data from Healthy Partnerships in 2010, relying on a World Bank report, declared the Garki Hospital as a model PPP hospital where a private provider manages a government structure, and a pattern where patients get higher-quality services than at public hospitals at cheaper rates than other private centres.
With limited resources available to the government and yet many sectors in dire need of intervention, it is imperative for the administration to think of revitalizing the insufficient health facilities in order to meet the healthcare needs of the populace who long for quality and affordable health services.
