COVID-19: PDP directs members to scale up personal interventions

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has directed its members across the country to intensify their efforts in providing assistance to vulnerable Nigerians in their neighborhoods to further mitigate the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown directives.
The PDP also called on more Nigerians to join public-spirited individuals and groups in extending assistance to vulnerable citizens in the overall effort to contain and check the spread of the pandemic in our nation.
The party made the call in a press release by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan at the weekend in Abuja.
The party’s call, the release said, is against the backdrop of the failure of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration to make adequate provisions for social palliatives and other panaceas to Nigerians, despite the immense resources at its disposal.
Stating that its position is also in line with its manifesto and guiding principles to ensure the security, wellbeing and happiness of all citizens, irrespective of creed, ethnicity and political persuasion, the PDP called on all Nigerians to look beyond primordial considerations and join forces to defeat the virus.
The party urged Nigerians to use this time to further display their spirit of brotherly care by assisting vulnerable persons around them particularly the aged, the unemployed as well as individuals and families whose means of livelihood had been crippled for the restriction directives.
The PDP said that it is worrisome, that at a time as this, the APC and its government would remain lethargic and allow sheer incompetence to continue to constrict it into unnecessary parochialism in the handling of effort against the spread of COVID-19 in our country.
According to the statement, ‘Our party also bemoaned the lack of accountability and the manifest sleaze in the disbursement of financial palliatives with allegations of diversion of billion of naira to private purses to the detriment of poor Nigerians.
Indeed, such is not the way to go”.

The party therefore urged the Federal Government to be transparent and involve more capable Nigerian medical experts, researchers as well as equipment manufacturers to assist in checking the spread of the pandemic in our country.

The party counselled the Federal Government to bring in the hands used in winning the battle against the equipment producers, to concert effort towards production of ventilators and other equipment Ebola virus disease as well as commission indigenous manufacturers, especially auto and needed in the fight against the coronavirus.

The PDP restated its commendation to the organized private sector for donations following our call for intervention.

It also restated its commendation to health care providers and several other frontline workers, who have been risking their lives to safeguard our nation, while calling on all Nigerians to continue in prayers and observing health safety directives as we collectively defeat this pandemic.