CSOs LIST CONDITIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN FG’S FUTURE PALLIATIVE DISTRIBUTION

Some civil society organisations have said they have not been contacted by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, over the planned move to involve them in future distribution of palliatives.

The ministry came under heavy criticism over its perceived poor handling of palliative distribution in the aftermath of the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

Many claimed that the ministry shortchanged vulnerable Nigerians with its handling of the exercise, particularly the claim that yet-to-be disclosed billions of naira was spent to feed pupils from poor homes during the period of the lockdown.

But the Minister in charge of the ministry, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, told the Senate Committee on Special Duty penultimate week that civil society organisations would henceforth be involved in the distribution of palliatives.

The minister spoke when she appeared before the Senate panel to explain her ministry’s utilisation of the COVID-19 intervention fund allocated to it.

She said N2.457bn was released to the ministry in respect of the COVID-19 rapid response and that it was part of the N32.4bn allocated to it.

She said N30bn had yet to be released to her ministry and that past ugly experiences had made her officials to involve other bodies, especially the NGOs in future distribution.

However, a former Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, told our correspondent on Thursday that the ministry would have to disclose details of its distribution strategies before any form of collaboration with NGOs would work.

Odinkalu, who is currently coordinating a coalition of several civil society groups, also said the government should not use its proposed collaboration with CSOs to gain credibility.

He said, “This (collaboration) cannot be done by co-optation. If the government wants to discuss the concept and strategy of what it calls ‘palliatives’ with CSOs, they are welcome.

“However, they cannot settle on a mechanism of mismanaging public resources and then decide to co-opt CSOs with crumbs as bribes in order to insulate themselves from deserved criticism. That sucks terribly!”

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Also, the Campaign for Democracy demanded the strategy for distribution before they could collaborate with the government on the exercise.

The Secretary General of the group, Ifeanyi Odili, told our correspondent on Thursday that the government should not think it could use CSOs to legitimise its shabby handling of the exercise it undertook in the past.

Odili, who is also the convener of the Conference of Nigerian Civil Rights Activists, said, “As far as we are concerned, no government agency at the federal or state level has opened such a discussion with us.

“I am aware that the Federal Government procured food items to be distributed during the first phase of the COVID 19 pandemic, but the items did not get to their targets.

“For these palliatives to get down to the targeted poor people, the minister is not off mark to involve CSOs/NGOs for effective distribution of the foodstuffs.

“But we must know these CSOs that will be involved, they have to be scrutinised in order to separate the wheat from the chaffs, so that the minister will not be doing more harm than good.”

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