Members of the House of Representatives have summoned the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Chikwe Ihekweazu, to appear and brief it on the government’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and its template for the intervention in all the states of the federation.
The lawmakers took this decision while adopting a motion brought under matters of urgent national importance by the House leader, Alhassan Doguwa, on Tuesday.
Mr Doguwa took the motion on behalf of other members of the Kano State caucus on the mysterious deaths in the commercial city of Kano.
Also to appear before the house during the next plenary on Tuesday next week are the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, and the Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce, Boss Mustapha.
Since reporting its index case about two weeks ago, Kano has been the centre of controversies ranging from the rapid increase in number of confirmed cases, ‘mysterious deaths’ and the sudden halt of its testing operation.
Kano, which currently stands as the third hardest-hit state in Nigeria, has so far reported 77 cases out of the 1,273 in Nigeria.
A member of Kano Task Force on COVID-19, Isa Abubakar, said the NCDC’s COVID-19 testing centre in Kano suspended its operation due to shortage of testing kits.
But the Director-General of the NCDC on Monday said testing has resumed in the state.
While adopting the motion, the house also urged the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency and priority scale up the nation’s COVID-19 testing capacity and Called on the NCDC to adopt creatively proactive modern approaches and technologies in the management of COVID-19 Pandemic.
The house also will investigate the immediate and remote causes of the unexplained number of deaths in the state.
Other Prayers
While adopting the motion, some other lawmakers suggested amendments which were endorsed.
Kabiru Idris (APC, Kano) called for one testing centre each in all the 744 Local Governments in Nigeria.
Another lawmaker, Aisha Dukku (Gombe, APC) urged the government to include all stakeholders, including traditional and religious leaders, in the sensitisation of the people on COVID-19.
On his part, Henry Nwanwuba asked that the voice of the NOA be stepped up particularly in Kano; and that the Kano State Government should quickly, as a matter of urgency, conclude investigation of the deaths in the state.
Isiaka Ayokunle asked that the relevant committees of the House should engage with the PTF.
He also called for the provision of N15bn by the FG as intervention fund to every state.
The Speaker, after the prayers had been passed, however, said the federal government would not provide equal intervention funds to states with a varied number of cases.
