Be fair in your distribution of palliatives, Lawan tells Nigerian govt

The President of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has called on the Federal Government to be fair and make the distribution of the COVID-19 pandemic palliatives to be all inclusive.

Lawan gave the advice on Wednesday during a meeting of the leadership of the National Assembly with select members of the Presidential Committee on COVID-19 in Abuja, according to a statement by Lawan’s spokesman, Ola Awoniyi.

Present at the meeting were the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy Speaker Idris Wase, some principal officers and relevant Senate and House committee members also attended the meeting, according to the statement.

According to the Senate President, all parts of the country should be considered in the intervention initiatives of the Federal Government.

Read also: Govt to license private hospitals to treat COVID-19

“We must ensure that there is equity. That there is fairness in the interventions. Every part of this country should have something to ameliorate the situation whether it is Coronavirus infected or not.

“In fact, some of our states had been in a very difficult situation before the outbreak of Coronavirus and such interventions will definitely help,” Lawan said.

He also called on relevant agencies of government to ensure that they streamline their activities along the provisions in the 2020 budget and avoid duplication of projects.

“In our stimulus package, we need to ensure provisions that will streamline with what is already in the 2020 budget so that we don’t do duplication.

“In our last meeting, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning indicated that the executive is proposing a N500billion stimulus package”, Lawan said.

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