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Coronavirus: FG releases N620m to NCDC

Ezekiel Johnson
Ezekiel Johnson
Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed

The Federal Government has released the sum of N620 million to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, for the prosecution of the war against the spread of coronavirus in the country.

The release was in obvious response to the demand by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Thursday when he undertook a tour of isolation centres located at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada.

Lawan had called for the immediate release of the money to be able to tackle the menace of coronavirus.

His words: “I am sad, we are indeed actually sad, that of the N620 million that was supposed to be released to this place for fixing of everything here to NCDC, not a kobo has been released.

“We are going to get across to the Minister of Finance and all the other authorities that have anything to do with this to release this money latest between today and tomorrow.”

The announcement of the release of the fund was made on Friday by Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, special adviser on media and communication to the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed.

Said Abdullahi in a statement issued: “The approval by President Muhammadu Buhari for the release of funds to tackle COVID-19 was an emergency and the process of releasing the fund was also an emergency as it was an unexpected expenditure.

“However, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning had released the first tranche of N364 million sometime ago and the process of releasing the second tranche has been concluded with the release of N620 million this morning, bringing total release to N984 million.

“Responding to a media enquiry yesterday, the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, promised that the second tranche of the needed fund would be released today, which has been done, keeping to the promise.”

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