After Buhari's Conversion of COVID-19 PTF to PSC, Unrest Rocks Senate
- Reports from the Senate indicated that the National Assembly was not consulted before the COVID-19 PTF was converted to PSC
- The Senate made this complaint during its plenary on Thursday, April 8
- According to the chairman of the Senate committee on health, Yahaya Ibrahim Oloriegbe, the red chamber is in the dark on this
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The Nigerian Senate has expressed displeasure over the failure of the executive arm of the federal government to consult it before converting the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to the new Presidential Steering Committee.
This came when the Senate committee on health chaired by Senator Yahaya Ibrahim Oloriegbe queried Abdulaziz Mashi Abdullahi, the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, on the government's decision, The Nation reports.
Source: Twitter
Oloriegbe said the ministry did not meet with and consult the National Assembly before effecting such a crucial transition.
The senator disclosed that as it stands now, the red chamber knows nothing about the content of that conversion and how the steering committee would work.
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His words:
“Because the executive can always say we are the policy-makers. For example, I can make it public, I was listening to the radio yesterday and I heard that the PTF (on COVID-19) has been converted to a steering committee.
“I am just trying to say I will have my Clerk invite you (Permanent Secretary) to come and explain to us the process of that response because we represent Nigeria.
“What is the content of that conversion? How will the steering committee work? We were not consulted but we don’t mind. But as part of our oversight, we will come back and ask you.”
In a report by The Guardian, the committee's chairman said the legislative body does more consultation than the executive arm of government.
Earlier, it was reported that the PTF for COVID-19 would now operate as the PSC. In a press briefing on Tuesday, April 6, the chairman of the defunct PTF, Boss Mustapha, said the transition to the PSC took effect from Thursday, April 1.
Mustapha revealed that the new committee will operate till the end of 2021. He went on to explain that the committee will function with a modified mandate to reflect the non-emergent stage of the pandemic in the country.
Source: Legit.ng
