The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, has decried the poor state of Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure.
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Mustapha, making this known during a meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly said that he realised how bad it was after he was appointed as the chairman of the Presidential Taskforce, PTF, on COVID-19.
Mustapha:
I can tell you for sure, I never knew that our entire healthcare infrastructure was in the state in which it is. Until I was appointed to do this work.
While he said the weaknesses in Nigeria’s health systems became more glaring given the way more established health systems in Europe and America collapsed under pressure, he noted that the pandemic has provided the opportunity to examine the state of the nation’s health care systems which is in dire need of reforms and funding.
Mustapha, however, assured that there are plans to lay a legacy foundation for the immediate, medium and long-term development of the health system in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic across the country.
He added that for transparency and accountability, the Taskforce will not be directly involved in the collection and disbursement of the cash donations for COVID-19.
The Accountant-General of the Federation has already published the account details for collection through some commercial banks and also provided the modalities for its utilisation. All the main COVID-19 accounts shall be domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
However, all non-cash donations shall be duly received by the PTF, acknowledged, documented and appropriately deployed,” he said.
The SGF further explained that Nigeria, like the rest of the world, is at war against a dangerous enemy and all hands must be on deck to successfully prosecute the war.
While applauding the Taskforce for the work done so far, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, advised the team to have better coordination of the donations received from public-spirited individuals, corporate bodies and Institutions to avoid duplications or the relevant bodies working at cross purposes.
