The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 on Monday disclosed how resources were shared among states to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
The committee said Lagos was given N10 billion, Kano, N5 billion, and other states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory received 1 billion each.
This was contained in a statement titled the journey so far by the PSC Chairman at the summit on COVID-19 held in Abuja
He said, “Resources made available to States and FCT, Lagos: N10 billion; Kano: N5 billion; other states & FCT: N1 billion each.”
Mustapha also said no fewer than 40,000 medical personnel were trained on infection prevention control among others.
He said, “Number of medical personnel trained on infection, prevention and control 40,000; number of laboratories developed 156, number of oxygen plants approved and being funded for reactivation and/or development 38; these projects are ongoing. Total number of samples tested to date 3,580,510; total number of confirmed cases 214,662; total number of discharged cases 207,450; total number, of active cases 4,192; total number of fatalities 2,980; number of isolation centres developed under NCDC 15; these are different from the states’ isolation centers.“
Mustapha said The PTF/PSC has to date submitted two major reports to Government, in December 2020 and March 2021, adding that the response remains a work in progress because COVID-19 has not abated.
He also said, despite the challenges, Nigeria, has so far been able to access 12 million doses of vaccines going into the third phase of the vaccine rollout.
According to him, more is expected to be available by the end of February 2022, adding that the objective of the third phase of the vaccine rollout is to ramp up vaccination to 50 per cent of the eligible population.
He stressed that the world was adopting vaccine mandates and was making it a prerequisite for admissions into some countries, saying that it was finding ways to navigate the challenges to vaccination.
Mustapha, however, lamented the restrictive measures on Nigeria, adding that a new treaty that would prevent such situations was underway.
He said, “With the emergence of Omicron, Nigeria, like some other countries, has become a target of restrictive measures. This has to be only on a strong basis of science and data.
“Nigeria joins the WHO and other countries in calling on countries of the world to implement risk-based international protocols that are in line with international health regulations whilst we are developing a new pandemic treaty that will avert this type of situation. Global health security is our collective responsibility irrespective of our economic status.”
Speaking, the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan, said the National Assembly equally played a critical role in supporting the Executive arm of government to respond frontally through the passage of the Quarantine Act in order to mitigate the effects of COVID–19 on citizens and the economy.
He added that NASS reviewed the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and the 2020 national budget in order to sufficiently fund the national response to the pandemic and to provide economic stimulus packages for Nigerians.
He also said the oversight functions of the Assembly necessitated the proper scrutiny of how the funds were expended and also monitored strict compliance with resolutions concerning the fair and equitable distribution of palliatives to the vulnerable.
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