Dirisu Yakubu
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has called for more investments in the health sector, to curb the brain drain confronting the sector.
Besides checkmating medical tourism, Abbas said such investments will generate foreign exchange and save the naira.
The Speaker stated this when a delegation from the First Surat Group of Companies, a Turkish conglomerate in Nigeria, visited him in Abuja at the weekend.
The delegation was made up of the Group Managing Director of the organisation, Yasar Ovenc; Chief Medical Director of Nizamiye Hospital, Prof Ibrahim Yanmis; Executive Director of Nizamiye Hospital, Servet Gulerman; Managing Director, Nigerian-Turkish International Schools, Feyzullah Bilgin; President, Ufuk Dialog, Emrah Ilgen; and the Public Relations Officer, Nizamiye Hospital, Muhammad Abubakar.
Also at the meeting were the Minority Whip of the House, Ali Isah; Deputy Chief of Staff to the Speaker (Administration), Jamil Ahmad Muhammad, among others.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Abdullahi Krishi, quoted Abbas as saying, “A significant number of the citizens of this country are going on medical tourism. If we can have or replicate what we have in the developed countries, Nigeria will be able to save a lot of foreign exchange, and we will be able to save our naira.”
Abbas who represents the Zaria Federal Constituency, Kaduna State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress expressed the readiness of the National Assembly, particularly the House, to welcome ideas on how to collaborate for a win-win situation for Nigeria and Turkey.
Stressing that he was “really touched by the amazing and wonderful things” the First Surat Group of Companies has been doing in Nigeria, Speaker Abbas urged the conglomerate to work with the newly created Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility of the House for the mutual benefit of Nigeria and Turkey.
“It is indeed a testimony that the Nigerian-Turkish relationship is a mutually beneficial one, and I hope other nationalities will emulate the good work that you have been doing in Nigeria.”
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