SERAP tasks Buhari on tracking N1.3trn spending on COVID-19

..Seeks EFCC, ICPC monitoring of spending

..PDP demands transparency

…As confirmed cases hit 30 with Lagos topping list

OBIORA IFOH, Abuja

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari urging him to use his leadership position to “urgently instruct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to jointly track and monitor spending by federal agencies and state governors on combating coronavirus or COVID19 pandemic in Nigeria.”

Also, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) urged said the Federal Government to come clean on the source of the intervention, the specific intervention projects where the fund will apply, the level of involvement of other tiers of government and private stakeholders, as well as the mode of disbursements and monitoring.

The appeal came on the heels of the confirmation of five new cases of COVID-19 in the country bringing the total number of people who have tested positive in Nigeria to 30.

Of the 30 confirmed cases, two cases have been discharged and there has been no death from COVID-19 in Nigeria.  Of the new cases, six in Lagos State and one each in Oyo State and   Federal Capital Territory Abuja.

“A multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC) activated at level 3, continues to coordinate the national response activities”, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) stated..

One of the three new patients discovered is a 51year old Briton who arrived Nigeria March 8 via BA75 flight. The second is another Nigerian on connecting flight KL0582 London Amsterdam / KL0587 Amsterdam – Lagos March 14 while the third is a 65 year old American citizen who arrived in Lagos about six weeks ago.

It would be recalled that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) activated at level 3, continues to coordinate the national response activities. The Federal Government has already budgeted N1.3 trillion for combating the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

But SERAP had while calling for the judicious use of the funds deployed to combating the menace of CIVID-19 said this “would remove the risks of corruption and mismanagement in our healthcare systems that are already weakened by systemic corruption.”

In the letter dated 20 March, 2020 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “Coronavirus crisis requires quick responses but it also requires corruption safeguards to ensure public funds are well spent, and promote access to basic public health and other services to those most in need.”

SERAP said: “By prioritising transparency and accountability in the spending of funds to combat coronavirus, your government will be taking preventive measures to ensure that the efforts to reduce the spread of the pandemic and promote the health and safety of Nigerians are not compromised by corruption.”

SERAP expressed “concern that systemic corruption in the health sector across the country would hurt the federal and state authorities’ responses to the coronavirus crisis.”

The letter, read in part: “The challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic also show the urgent need for your government to improve Nigeria’s health systems and to encourage state governors to commit some parts of their security votes to provide additional resources towards strengthening the health systems within their states.”

“Your government ought to move swiftly to increase spending on efforts to combat coronavirus in the country and provide funding support to Nigerians that are most affected by the crisis, by presenting COVID-19 budget/spending plan to the National Assembly and setting up a COVID-19 trust fund to which wealthy individuals and others should be encouraged to contribute.”

“The proposed increase in spending of funds on COVID-19 means accountability for those funds should be top of your government’s list of priorities, if it is to remove opportunities for corruption that can undermine initiatives to stop the spread of COVID-19.”

“The EFCC and ICPC should ensure that anyone found to have mismanaged or stolen public funds meant for addressing the coronavirus pandemic are effectively prosecuted and punished.”

“We also urge you to take urgent measures to ensure that health sector services in federal institutions and agencies are strengthened and that the appropriate corruption risk assessments are implemented and monitored.”

“The lesson from the Ebola crisis is that even in times of public emergencies, there are those who aim to profit from others most affected by the crisis. Monitoring the spending on coronavirus would help to apply the lessons of the Ebola crisis and prevent corruption, which characterised the efforts to combat it in some countries including in Sierra Leone and Liberia, where patients reportedly paid bribes to access health services.”

“Corruption in the spending of funds to combat coronavirus will undermine public trust in any efforts by your government to bring the spread of the pandemic under control, and deny access to basic public health services to Nigerians who need the services most.”

“Monitoring the spending of public funds budgeted to combat coronavirus would also ensure respect for human rights and contribute to ensuring that Nigerians who cannot afford to pay bribes are not denied access to testing and treatment, and that high-ranking officials and wealthy individuals subject to quarantines are not abusing the systems.”

“We will continue to closely monitor the situation and where appropriate invoke the Freedom of Information Act and take legal action to ensure transparency and accountability, and full respect for Nigerians’ human rights.”

“The right to health provides that health facilities, goods, and services should be: available in sufficient quantity, accessible to everyone without discrimination, and affordable for all, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized groups.”

“These obligations mean that your government should ensure that accurate and up-to-date information about the number of identified cases and spread of coronavirus in the country, access to services, service disruptions, and other aspects of the response to the outbreak is widely available and accessible to all.”

“The right to health also imposes obligations on your government to minimize the risk of occupational accidents and diseases including by ensuring health workers and others involved in the coronavirus response have information and adequate protective clothing and equipment they need.”

“This request is consistent with Nigeria’s international anti-corruption and human rights obligations including under the UN Convention against Corruption, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Nigeria has ratified these treaties.”

“Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Your government is obligated to take effective steps for the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases.”

“As the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which monitors state compliance with the covenant, has stated, the right to health is closely related to and dependent upon the realization of other human rights, including the rights to food,  education, human dignity, life, non-discrimination, equality, and access to information.”

“We hope that the aspects highlighted will help guide your actions in acting to ensure the effectiveness of any efforts to combat the coronavirus crisis in Nigeria. We would be happy to discuss any of these issues in more detail with you.”

In his appeal, PDP has said it was worried over allegations of corruption in handling of the N1.3 trillion set aside to cushion the effect of COVID-19 on the economy and therefore demands ultimate transparency.

The party in a state of the nation address wants the Federal Government to come clean on the source of the intervention, the specific intervention projects where the fund will apply, the level of involvement of other tiers of government and private stakeholders, as well as the mode of disbursements and monitoring.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, while addressing the media on Sunday, said the opposition party demands that the COVID-19 interventions be allocated to the three tiers of government for effective delivery and monitoring.

“Furthermore, the PDP calls on all economic stakeholders, particularly in the private sector, to immediately rally to articulate solutions and palliative measures, since it is clear that the Buhari-led APC government is clueless and has no solution to offer.

“The PDP urges the economic stakeholders to articulate ways to effectively diversify our economy and provide jobs using the all-inclusive measures implemented by PDP administrations to effectively grow the economy as well as successfully handle emergencies such as the Ebola virus disease.

 “Our party worked very hard to grow our economy and will not allow an incompetent, insensitive and corrupt party and its administration ruin our nation.”

PDP also said that APC and the Buhari Presidency have finally wrecked the nation’s economy and that there is no hope in sight under their control.

He said, “The APC and Buhari Presidency have turned us into a beggar nation and the world poverty capital with their inherent recklessness and lack of capacity to articulate strategies that will sustain and grow our hitherto robust economy which they took over from the PDP in 2015.

“Our Party, the PDP holds the Buhari administration responsible for the devaluation of the naira due to its failures.

“President Buhari should immediately end all tactless economic policies, accept failure, seek help and get more competent hands to work on the economy, develop strategies to strengthen the naira as well as paddle our nation out of the current economic quandary.

“The Government should end its exclusionist policies and allow competent Nigerians, who are now being engaged by other countries, to help out.

“The Buhari-led APC administration should immediately cut down the size of its over-bloated government and plug waste by clipping the luxury expenditure of the Presidency, cabinet ministers and other executive appointees while channeling billions of naira to be saved to national economy.

“The Buhari-led administration should also shelve every plan of increasing the already excruciating taxes including the Value Added Tax (VAT) which it increased from 5% to 7.5%, with an attendant high costs on essential goods and services.

“The Federal Government, in its plans to review the 2020 budget, should not touch items that have direct bearings on the welfare of Nigerians but immediately cut all over-bloated executive votes as well as expunge paddings and fraudulently duplicated items, which our party initially pointed out in the budget.

“The Buhari Presidency should immediately take steps to recover the over N14 trillion stolen by APC cabals, including the N9trillion stolen oil money as detailed in the leaked NNPC memo and channel same to social palliatives.”

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