Thirty-six state governors under the auspices of Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) have asked the National Assembly (NASS) to quickly step-down the controversial Control of Infectious Diseases Bill 2020.
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Specifically, the governors said the NASS should not make any further legislative action on the bill except a public hearing is conducted and the bill is widely accepted by stakeholders.
Also, the governors have insisted to carry out a thorough review of the legislation to ascertain its implications on states. To execute the task, the NGF has since mandated its Secretariat to do the review.
This was the outcome of the 8th COVID-19 teleconference meeting of the governors on Wednesday night. The communique was signed by the NGF Chairman and Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi.
Consequently, the NGF announced a committee to review the controversial bill. The committee has Governors Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State; Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto and Simon Lalong of Plateau state respectively.
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It further said with the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country, it is now necessary for more health workers to be trained and the interstate travel ban be enforced more stringently.
The NGF further disclosed that it will review the 2020 budgets of states and also alter state procurement guidelines to support e-procurement and participation of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Part of the communique read: “The Forum is concerned with the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country which reached 4,787 as of 12th May 2020 based on an update from the Presidential Taskforce (PTF) on COVID-19.
“The worrying trend urgently calls for additional measures by State Governors to ramp up capacity for testing, increase the availability of isolation beds to at least 300 per State, accelerate the procurement of additional personal protective equipment (PPE) and training for health workers, as well as the continued enforcement of interstate restriction of movement.
“In line with the commitment made by the Forum to intensify public-private collaboration for the delivery of palliatives from the private sector, Governors are making warehouses available for the delivery of palliatives and have appointed State Coordinators who will be responsible for the receipt and distribution of palliatives to vulnerable persons.
“Following an update from the Governor of Sokoto State and Vice Chairman of the NGF, H.E Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, on the proposed Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020 introduced by the House of Representatives, Governors raised concern with the lack of consultation with State governments who are at the forefront of the epidemic.
“The Forum resolved that the Bill should be stepped down until an appropriate consultative process is held, including a public hearing to gather public opinion and concerns.
“In the light of this, the Forum established a Committee comprising the Governors of Katsina, Sokoto, and Plateau to lead a consultative meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly on the proposed Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020. The NGF Secretariat was also mandated to comprehensively review the Bill and its implication on States.
“The Forum received a briefing from the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, on the Oil and Gas Industry Intervention Initiative on COVID-19, set up by oil and gas operators to provide medical consumables to States, deploy logistics and in-patient support systems, and deliver permanent medical infrastructure across the six geopolitical zones.
“Following an update from the Governor of Edo State, H.E Godwin Obaseki on the operation of the World Bank States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) project which is supporting a strong pro-poor fiscal response to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, State Governors agreed to take additional measures to strengthen their public financial management systems, including a revision of their 2020 budgets and the amendment of State procurement guidelines to support e-procurement and the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises.
“To fast-track the deployment of e-procurement across States, the Forum will be adopting a Software as a Service (SaaS) model with the Kaduna State government providing the framework agreement that other States can leverage on,” it stated.
