COVID-19: Gbajabiamila Wants Reps Involved in Palliatives Getting To All Nigerians in Need

BY SEGUN ADEBAYO.ABUJA – Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has said that the palliatives provided by the Federal Government at this time of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic must reach all Nigerians in need.

Gbajabiamila said although the government has done its best to reach as many Nigerians as possible, evidence showed that many Nigerians in need are yet to get any form of palliative.

While commending the palliative schemes initiated by the administration in helping to alleviate the sufferings of some of our most vulnerable populations, he however noted that many of the people have not benefited from any of the implemented measures.

Gbajabiamila said; “It is necessary that we act to ensure that as many people as need help, are reached. We must also ensure that the distribution of interventions across the country is inclusive and equitable,” the Speaker said in his address to his colleagues at the resumption of plenary session on Tuesday.

“At times like this, there is a tendency for the existing faultiness of a nation to become dangerously exacerbated. The government must not be complicit, by acts of omission or commission in any such aggravations, as such will only make it more difficult to maintain the unity of purpose, that is essential to our nation’s survival at this delicate time.”

The Speaker therefore called on the administration to take advantage of the unique insights of federal legislators in targeting the distribution of some essential palliatives.

He said; “When federal government interventions do not reach those that need, we are the first to receive complaints and have to explain to our constituents the reasons why they do not qualify or why they have been left out. Our grassroots interactions provide knowledge and context that can be useful to ensure that the hardest-hit communities receive help.”

Gbajabiamila said in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, Nigeria must do everything possible to prevent large scale outbreak of the pandemic.

The Speaker revealed that in preparing for the new reality the country faces, he has established a Covid-19 Strategic Response Team (CRST) with a broad mandate to develop interventions and reforms and to update the Legislative Agenda to reflect Nigeria’s post-Covid realities and priorities.

“The Strategic Response Team will be supported by a group of technical experts, private sector leaders and representatives. Their experience and expertise will ensure that the policy proposals presented to the House are rigorously grounded in a fact-based reality.” 

While commending President Muhammadu Buhari for all the actions taken so far, the Speaker also lauded the efforts of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), well-meaning Nigerians that have contributed to the fight against the pandemic, among others.

He also thanked his colleagues for their contributions to the welfare and wellbeing of their constituents in this challenging time.