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The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to urgently review and introduce extra measures to show more transparency in the post-Covid-19 pandemic programmes aimed at cushioning the effects of the pandemic on Nigerians.
The House also urged the government agencies handling the programmes to employ more robust publicity of the programmes to create more awareness as well as make the requirements easier to meet.
It further resolved to set up ad-hoc committee to liaise with the relevant government agencies charged with the responsibility of distribution to ensure widespread distribution to grassroots.
These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance on the need to monitor the distribution of post-Covid-19 pandemic palliatives and other measures to cushion the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on Nigerians, sponsored by Ferdinand Nwankwo from Anambra State.
Read also: How CBN’s interventions can help economic recovery post-Covid-19
Moving the motion, Nwankwo said the House is aware of the intentions of the Executive to stimulate the growth and survival of the economy and the citizens’ livelihood both in the private and the public sector.
He expressed concerns that the #EndSARS protests revealed that some palliatives meant for distribution to the public long before now were still being kept in warehouses across the states while Nigerian citizens are still hungry and wallowing in penury.
Nwankwo said there is insufficient information about the palliatives and other intervention measures employed by the government which left the citizens with no option than to believe that the whole exercise lacked transparency.
The lawmaker said: ”The House is worried that as many as the programmes are, and as many funds that have already been deployed into the programmes, complaints abound nationwide by teeming Nigerian citizens who have not felt the impact of the cushioning measures. This means that the programmes are yet to get to the grassroots across the federation.
“Cognizant that the ugly effects of Covid 19 Pandemic are still biting hard on the Nigerian citizens including civil servants as normalcy is yet to return, meaning that things like prices of commodities and supply chains are not yet back to pre-pandemic rates”.
