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Posers over N21.5bn CACOVID funds

COVID-19: Surge in number of new infections in Nigeria as Abuja records 305

Nigerians decry lack of communication on donations to states, LGAs

‘We’re only seeing figures in media’

By Doosuur Iwambe

Nigerians have demanded answers on how N21.5 billion said to have been donated by the private-sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) was spent.

Reacting during an exclusive telephone interview with The Daily Times, the Coordinator, Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN), Dr Aminu Magashi Garba, said it was unfortunate that members of the public are unaware of who was contributing what.

Faulting the level of transparency, he said: “The populace does not know who is contributing what and who is spending what?

We are only seeing the figures in the media. “Therefore, transparency is weak.

There is no online platform or updates from them on total funds mobilized, how much was expended and what activities or interventions the funds are used for and what location in the country.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on April 6, 2020 revealed that donation from individuals and corporate bodies to the CACOVID relief fund was N21billion.

The Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that about 50 donors, including Chief Mike Adenuga, Raj Gupta of African Steel Mills Nigeria Ltd., Modupe and Folorunsho Alakija of Famfa Oil Limited and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), donated N1billion each to the Relief Fund.

Other donors include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Rahul Savarah, Tolaram Africa Enterprises Ltd., Ekeoma Eme Ekeoma, Jennifer Ramatu Etuh Foundation, ADG International Resources Ltd, and Proshare Nigeria Limited.

According to BudgIT, a civic organization committed to fiscal transparency, the issue of nonaccountability is more glaring in states and local government areas (LGAs) where there is little or no communication on money and materials donated.

Also, the Socio-Financial Rights and Accountability Mission (SERAP) asked the Federal Government (FG) and CBN to provide spending details of public funds and private sector donations to the country’s poor and most vulnerable people.

It also demanded details of beneficiaries of any cash payments, transfers and food distribution during the COVID-19 lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states.

Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Barrister Victor Osuagwu, said: “In other places, there is transparency with accountability.

We are told publicly how much was received and publicly how much was spent and on what, including who received the money and confirmation that he or she/he delivered.

“Corruption, fraud and embezzlement are endemic in Nigeria. Therefore, there is always suspicion, especially in government transactions.

The NCDC should have been conscious of this fact and therefore should have taken adequate measures to ensure transparency by including financial reporting in their daily briefing at least once a month, in order to keep the public at ease.

“The financial briefing will give the public a measure of confidence in the integrity of those who receive and disburse funds.

A lot of donations have been received from banks, organisations and individuals. With the way financial information is being managed now, the confidence of the public cannot be guaranteed.”

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Follow the Money, said it was compiling a list of all the pledges and funds donated to curb the spread of the virus in Africa.

Hamzat Lawal, co-founder of the NGO, which has a presence in Nigeria, Kenya, the Gambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Malawi and Liberia, said that the group has a focus on tracking government spending and international aid in rural communities.

“Follow the Money tries to answer where funds that have been donated to rural communities in Africa are coming from, where they are going and most importantly, how they are being utilized, particularly at the grassroots level.

“We monitor announcements of grants and donations for lowincome communities and for transparency.

They contact the government, agency or individuals responsible for the grant to provide a breakdown of how they intend to spend the money.

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“We also visit these communities to find out if they have received any funding or palliatives based on the information we get from the donors.

We make sure we empower them with information we have on the donation so that they are able to demand accountability from the government or agency involved in the donation.”

He said that Follow the Money created a database in Nigeria with information on more than 250 grants and other funds released to fight the spread of coronavirus. According to Lawal, the team traced coronavirus interventions worth up to N87 billion (about $222 million) in the country.

The database has information on how much was donated, who donated it, date it was announced and whether or not it has been disbursed for use.

Lawal said the information was sourced from publicly available sources, including news reports. “We created a hashtag called #followcovid19money.

Through the hashtag, we are engaging private individuals and companies on social media to give us a breakdown of how they intend to use the money to fight coronavirus,” he added.

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Ihesiulo Grace

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