We Are Appalled By FG’s Response To Coronavirus Threat- NMA

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has berated the federal government’s emergency preparedness over Coronavirus outbreak, saying the government had failed to act with any sense of urgency.

The NMA was reacting to the revelation by the Senate President Ahmed Lawan that the government was yet to release funds to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)for an emergency response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Lawan, on Wednesday, expressed disappointment over the sorry state of the temporary isolation centre to accommodate possible victims of COVID-19 in Abuja and wondered why the government had refused to release funds for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control(NCDC). 

The president of the NMA Francis Faduyile who spoke in an interview with THE WHISTLER on Thursday said Lagos state had built functional isolation centres while the nation’s capital is yet to put one in place due to none release of funding.

Faduyile also lamented that the directive of the government that disallowed the minister of health from making its own procurement had hampered readiness for the outbreak of the virus.

“If you go to Lagos state, they have shown proactiveness, by having a liveable isolation centre. I am appalled and amazed that despite being the seat of government and having an international airport, Abuja is yet to do the needful.”

On the directive mandating the ministry of health  to make procurements through the ministry of agriculture, Faduyile said government did it because of claims that the ministry had in the past violated due process in procurement.

However, he said it was wrong for the ministry of health to be making procurements through another ministry would only create bureaucratic bottlenecks..

“If there are infractions, they should correct them. Putting the ministry of health’s procurement under the ministry of agriculture will cause bottlenecks and the response within the ministry of health will not be as fast as we all aspect.”