COVID-19: NGF Wants CACOVID Set Up By CBN To Work Directly With States

BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has underscored the need for the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to work directly with the States in the distribution of palliatives.

The Forum which met on Sunday night through Teleconference unanimously supported the unification of exchange rates into a single, market-determined window and the use of the market-determined exchange rate to calculate all revenues due to the Federation.

The NGF stressed the importance of canceling all deductions and deferring or restructuring all commercial debt service payments on federal government and CBN-owned.

The Forum expressed full support for what it described as the federal government’s “timely implementation” of the petrol price modulation mechanism to eliminate petrol subsidy permanently in the country.

NGF Chairman, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, briefed members of the Forum on ongoing coordination with the World Bank to mobilise support for States to mitigate the economic and social cost of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fayemi also briefed the governors of ongoing plans which include accelerated disbursement of existing and new financing for States under the State Fiscal, Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme-for-Results, and mitigation and recovery support for expenditures to protect livelihoods, support local economic activity and recovery over the next 18 months to 2 years.

The Forum expressed appreciation to the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for their pledge to support States increase their capacity to mitigate the spread of the virus and care for confirmed cases through the construction of isolation centres and the distribution of personal protective equipment to States.

Following a briefing from Mr. Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) on the activities of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 which he chairs, the Forum commended the SGF and his team for the commitment in leading a national response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NGF members emphasized the necessity for stronger collaboration with States, stressing that they are best positioned to administer palliatives to mitigate the impact of the crisis, including the distribution of food and essential materials to households to help them cope with the expected loss of income and livelihoods.

The Forum also received presentation from the Chief Operating Officer of MTN, Mazen Mroue and the Chief Transformation Officer of MTN Nigeria, Olubayo Adekanmbi, on ongoing collaboration with the NGF Secretariat to profile States vulnerability to the spread of the coronavirus based on parameters such as population, age and density, travel history, location, income level, etc.

Governors accordingly approved the vulnerability model and resolved to use the model to drive a data-driven approach to stopping the spread of the virus in the country.