The immediate past administration in Kano State has said that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf was misinformed about the purported sale of the building housing the relocated Hasiya Bayero Pediatric Hospital in the city.
This is contained in a statement on Monday by the former commissioner for information and internal affairs in the administration, Malam Muhammad Garba.
He said hospital services at the facility were temporarily suspended following its relocation after the completion of Khalifa Sheikh Isyaka Rabiu Paediatric Hospital, one of the abandoned facilities inherited by the Ganduje administration.
He said the new pediatric hospital, which has more bed spaces, is now providing better-quality services in addition to serving as a training center and for research purposes.
Malam Garba pointed out that the old Hasiya Bayero was proposed to be converted into a malnutrition treatment center that would serve as a referral center for the treatment of malnutrition.
The ex-commissioner further stated that, in addition, a factory for manufacturing Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) for treatment of malnutrition at the center was proposed, as were all other health facilities across the state.
He said a Technical Committee was inaugurated by the administration of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to oversee the conversion process and had even undertook a study tour to a similar facility at Maradi in the Niger Republic with a view to setting up a befitting center.
Malam Garba added that from the available records, up to the 29th of May this year, the facility was not sold to any individual or organization, and it remained the property of the government of Kano State.
