Lockdown: Govt not doing enough to reach the poor with palliatives, says HEDA

The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) says government at all tiers is not doing enough in reaching the poor with palliatives during the  COVID-19 lockdown. 

In efforts to curb the spread of the virus, President Muahammadu Buhari had locked down the federal capital territory (FCT), Lagos, and Ogun states. Some governors also ordered lockdown in their states. 

At the beginning of the first phase of the lockdown, the federal government had said over 11 million poor Nigerians have been identified to benefit from the palliatives to cushion the harsh effects of COVID-19.

But in statement on Tuesday, Olanrewaju Suraju, chairman of HEDA, said there are about 90 million poor Nigerians who have no access to the essentials of life and whose conditions have been compounded by the lockdown.

“They are on the threshold of misery with serious consequences unless the various authorities reply to their needs immediately. We also call for accountability on the cost of palliatives being distributed across the country,” he said.

“We recommend that the tiers of government should share palliatives taking into consideration organised groups of artisans and those in the informal sector whose means of livelihood have been adversely affected by the lockdown.”

The civil society organisation said it has been compiling information across the country on the impact of government palliative interventions. 

It said it constantly receives reports that many of the vulnerable poor are excluded from the palliatives being shared by the various tiers of government while in some instances, deliberate distribution of materials have been restricted to only members of the ruling political parties in particular areas.

HEDA said the government needs to design an inclusive distribution mechanism that will focus on the critical population in the country.  

The group urged the government to be conscious of the fact that the lockdown without an economic roadmap can spur organised violent upheavals across the country.