Deji Elumoye and Chuks Okocha in Abuja
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the Senate has described as unusual what Nigeria is currently going through with the coronavirus pandemic.
It has, therefore, commended the federal government’s efforts towards combatting
the ravaging Covid-19 virus as contained in President Muhammadu Buhari’s national broadcast to Nigerians on Sunday evening.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the caucus said though they had expected the presidency to engage the National Assembly more in some of the policy areas that are statutory, but yet have to recognize the fact that these are unusual times that may require quick policy responses.
“These are perilous times in the world and indeed an unusual situation for our dear country, so the PDP caucus described as a step in the right direction the president’s broadcast and policy measures, which we believe while being short on prioritizing the poor and vulnerable in our society, nevertheless if properly implemented, will keep our people safe from this deadly virus,” he said.
Senator Abaribe stressed that the caucus is ready to work and engage in a bipartisan manner with the Presidency including reconvene should the need arise to ensure that the country wards off the Covid-19 virus, which has kept the entire world on its toes.
The caucus, however, canvassed for proper monitoring of the disbursement of the palliative measures to ensure that it gets to the people it is meant for “and also urged humane approach by the relevant security agencies while strictly implementing the measures that has to do with the restrictions of movement of our people”.
“The security agencies should bear in mind that these are unusual times and first of its kind that Nigerians will be asked to stay mostly at home and maintain social distance. As such, the approach should be more of humane engagement rather than the application of force,” Abaribe added.
Nonetheless, the PDP caucus, according to Abaribe, advised Nigerians to adhere strictly to the federal government’s directives and other containment measures rolled out by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), adding that doing so would certainly put the ravaging virus at bay.
“It could be tough, but the measures are necessary now if we must survive this deadly scourge and emerge stronger after,” he stated.
