Following the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus, COVID- 19 that is at
the moment, ravaging the world, the Federal Government is asking the
National Assembly to approve the proposed establishment of a N500
billion COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund as proposed by the Executive.
The
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed who
along side, Senior officials from her ministry, held a meeting with the
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila on Saturday intimated the
National Assembly of Federal Government’s plans to put up such an
intervention fund.
The meeting which took place at the National
Assembly, was also attended by the Deputy Senate President, Senator
Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy Speaker, Hon. Idris Wase and some other principal
officers from both Chambers.
The meeting was a follow-up to one
held last week Wednesday between the National Assembly leadership and
members of the Presidential Committee which was set up for the
management of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Minister said, “What we
are proposing is an establisment of a N500 billion COVID-19 Crisis
Intervention Fund,” the minister told the parliamentary leaders.
“This
Fund that we are proposing, that should be created, will involve
mopping up resources from various special accounts that the government
as well as the Federation have, to be able to pull this N500 billion.”
According
to Mrs Ahmed, in addition to the identified special accounts from
where the money will be drawn as loans, the proposed intervention fund
is also expected to be sourced from grants being expected and loans from
multilateral Institutions.
She said, “Our general view is that
this crisis intervention fund is to be utilised to upgrade healthcare
facilities as earlier identified.
“The Federal Government also
needs to be in a position to improve health care facilities not only in
the states but to provide intervention to the states.”
The
Finance Minister who explained to the lawmakers that the Fund, if
approved, will also take care of special Public Work Programmes
currently being implemented by the National Directorate of
Employment(NDE), said, “We know that there will be a need for the
parliament to agree and approve the taking of loans from these special
accounts and we will be coming back with a proposed bill in that regard
that will define what the fund will be used for.”
Earlier in his
remarks, the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan who noted that
the meeting was in fulfilment of an earlier promise to provide support
as the need arises in this time of crisis, said, “Just like we told
Nigerians, when there is need for us to meet or to take legislative
action in support of ensuring that the government responds appropriately
to developments issues and challenges in the country, we will do so.
“This
meeting, the second in the series after we shut down the National
Assembly for two weeks, is a clear testimony of what we have said.
“Governance
requires that we work together, so we want to listen to those things
that you have on your side and how we can also play our constitutional
role in ensuring that Nigerians continue to benefit from governance and
how we are able to weather the storm created by COVID-19.
“Going
forward, we need to interact more because very fundamental decisions
will need be taken, and these decisions can only be said to be
constitutionally legal if the legislature gives its stamp of authority
for the executive to implement and execute.
“I think coming to us
for those loans is critical because we are in an emergency and time is
of essence. So, we must work as expeditiously as possible to ensure that
we place the request before the National Assembly.
“I think time
has come for us to redefine the implementation of the Social
Intervention Programme, probably going out to communities to give them
N20,000 per person might not be the best way to go. It is still an
effort, but I think we need a better approach that will be more
efficient.”
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