The federal ministry of finance disclosed on Thursday that the second tranche of the N620 million budgeted for emergency response on coronavirus outbreak, meant to be released to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) will be issued on Friday.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, had on Wednesday, during a tour of the Isolation Centres located at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, expressed sadness that no part of the N620 million was yet to be released to NCDC, and further requested the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, to immediately make the money available.
But the ministry of finance insisted on Thursday that it has since released to the NCDC the first part of the emergency budget to fight coronavirus, “sometime ago” and that it was also ready to issue out the last tranche.
Lawan had said: “I am sad, we are indeed actually sad, that of the N620 million that was supposed to be released to this place for fixing of everything here to NCDC, not a kobo has been released.
“We are going to get across to the Minister of Finance and all the other authorities that have anything to do with this to release this money latest between today and tomorrow.
“As leaders given responsibilities, we have to do what is right. This is unfortunate. So, the Ministry of Finance should release the N620 million between today and tomorrow,” he stated.
There is controversy because it is assumed that Lawan was not aware and or not properly briefed by the ministry on whether or not the first tranche of the money was released to NCDC.
However, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the minister of finance, disclosed while responding to BusinessDay enquiries on Thursday that part of money has since been released.
According to Abdullahi, the release of the fund was an unexpected expenditure due to the emergency of the coronavirus outbreak hence quick approval by the federal government to contain the scourge.
“The approval by President Muhammadu Buhari for the release of funds to tackle the menace of COVID-19 was an emergency and the process of releasing the fund is also an emergency as it was an unexpected expenditure.
“However, the Ministry has released the first tranche sometime ago and the process of releasing the second tranche has been concluded and will be released tmrow,” Abdullahi stated.
Solomon Ayado, Abuja
