The Federal Government has put two ambulances purchased by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua on sale, over the high cost of fuelling and maintenance.
Yar’Adua had purchased 10 ambulances in 2008 for the State House Clinic but Sunday New Telegraph learnt that it was costing government a fortune to maintain and fuel them.
The ambulances were also used to convey Yar’Adua from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, when he was flown back to the country from Saudi Arabia in February 2010. They were also used to convey his body to his hometown in Katsina State when he died in May 2010.
Two of the special vans are abandoned in Lagos due to the challenges with maintaining them while buyers have so far failed to show up.
Confirming the development to our correspondent in Abuja, Chief Medical Director of the State House Clinic and Chief Physician to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Fortune Fiberesima, told our correspondent that the 10 special Ford Ambulances were ordered from the United States and had been having maintenance issues.
“The ambulances use sulphur diesel which is expensive and hard to get against the type of diesel we use in the country. We can’t afford it,” Fiberesima said.
According to the CMD, it costs the clinic N1 million to service each ambulance, noting that two of the Ford ambulances had long since been abandoned in Lagos because they could not be fixed.
Fiberesima also explained that because of the maintenance problem, the management of the clinic had since put the ambulances on auction but had yet to get buyers.
“The Ford ambulances have already been out for auction but no one is coming forward to buy,” he stated.
He said because the presidential convoy cannot move without an ambulance, the State House in 2012 purchased two new Mercedes ambulances to replace the Ford model.
Only these two ambulances are currently in use for presidential movement. The CMD insisted that the clinic had been using Peugeot brand of ambulances which were bought a long time ago.
On the issue of equipment for the clinic, Fiberesima said in the last two years, only one MRI machine was purchased by its management.
“This MRI is one of the best in the country,” he noted. New Telegraph
