• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Who monitors the spending of Covid-19 funds?

Covid-19 funds

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19), a lot of money has been donated and raised in Nigeria to fight and curtail the spread of the virus.

Earlier, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that it has set out a number of measures to tackle the impact of coronavirus, including establishing a fund of N50 billion to support the country’s economy, targeted at households and micro and small enterprises.

The Federal Government and states have been approving and doling out billions of Naira for the fight of Covid-19 too. Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari approved N6.2 billion for the fight against Covid-19 in Niger Delta, amid huge sums already given to other geopolitical zones.

Again, on April 20, 2020, the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved US$ 3.4 billion in emergency support to Nigeria to address the pandemic. The support raises question on the billions raised for the fight and if we have exhausted the funds.

Interestingly, the private sector is also in the game of donating huge funds.

The foremost of the many private sector donors is the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID).

From N127 billion financial donations it received from 270 contributors when it was launched few weeks ago, the fund has increased to N145 billion from 395 contributors recently and is expected to increase further in coming weeks.

Nigerian billionaires, top business leaders, politicians and even the religious organisations have been doling out money into Covid-19 fund as well.

But the question remains, how judicious is the fund deployed to address the problem for which it was donated, amid the increasing suffering in the land following the lockdown?

So far, CACOVID said it has spent over N16 billion of its donations on procuring essential medical resources to fight the pandemic, the coalition has commenced distribution of food items including rice, garri, beans, noodles, and more to reach at least 1.7 million families in need.

The government also claims to have spent billions so far in the fight; but where are the evidences? Sadly, billions were spent on the relief materials for the lockdown, but the materials did not get to the people who truly need them.

So, one is right to ask if the acclaimed huge sum was truly spent on the procurement of the relief materials or if the funds were diverted into private pockets.

Obviously, there is so much money out there for Covid-19, but there seems to be less impact, implying that something may be happening to the fund against its original purpose.

If the funds are siphoned into private pockets, it would be the worst thing for Nigerians as the virus would spread and likely get to the households of those who siphoned the fund and there is no Europe to run to

Someone should monitor the deployment of the funds and their appropriate usage because billions are borrowed, approved, donated, and raised everyday all in the name of fighting Covid-19.

The doubt about the transparency over the use of the funds arose following the alleged mishandling of the palliative programme, which has since drawn the attention of the leadership of the National Assembly.

Nigerians are asking question over the use of the huge donations towards the fight against Covid-19 because they have seen situations where individuals became richer overnight by virtue of handling distribution of relief materials. If people can divert food and pharmaceutical supplies meant for the internally displaced persons (IDPs), there is no limit what they can do.