Coronavirus: Reps urge FG to sponsor experts to Madagascar, Senegal

- House of Reps has advised the federal government on what to do on coronavirus pandemic

- The lower legislative chamber tasked the government to sponsor experts to Madagascar and Senegal

- Madagascar had claimed to have the cure for the COVID-19

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Members of the House of Representatives have urged the federal government to sponsor experts on a study trip to Madagascar and Senegal for possible indigenous COVID-19 cure.

Premium Times reports that Madagascar has claimed to have found a cure for the virus while Senegal has developed an inexpensive coronavirus diagnostic kit.

Legit.ng gathered that the green chamber also asked the government to set aside a ₦15 billion emergency fund for tertiary institutions in the country as a response to the impact COVID-19 has had and will have on them.

The House also resolved that part of the fund should be used to establish an infectious disease research institute in six selected universities across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

It followed this by tasking tertiary institutions to launch a “Coronavirus Student Emergency Fund,” from which indigent and vulnerable students can draw from to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic.

These unanimous resolutions were adopted after a motion was moved by the minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta).

He said it is estimated that “tertiary institutions will experience at least a 15% reduction in enrolment,” thereby reducing the rate at which students would consider enrolling into tertiary education after the pandemic.

He added that the looming likelihood that parents would lose their jobs would also make tertiary institutions’ tuition income to nose-dive.

He noted that with the emergency fund, “students may demand fee reduction and waivers in the light of economic recession coupled with the shock of unemployment rates that could reach an estimated global average of 25%, higher education may also seem like a luxury for many.”

Elumelu further noted that there is a need to support institutions that are showing prospects of developing locally made equipment in the fight against COVID-19.

Recall that a team of engineers in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, unveiled a locally invented ventilator.

The lawmaker argued that “strategic additional funding could increase their capacity in this regard,” adding that the Nigerian government should learn from the U.S. and Canada.

Elumelu’s motion was co-sponsored by his fellow PDP lawmakers Fred Obua (Bayelsa), Francis Agbo (Benue), Makwe Livinus (Ebonyi), Aniekan Umanah (PDP, Akwa Ibom).

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Other co-sponsors were APC lawmakers: Steve Azaiki (Bayelsa), Betara Aliyu (Borno), Olaide Akinremi (Oyo), Kabiru Tukura (Kebbi) and Mahmud Gaya (Kano).

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that just when the Chinese government thought it dealt with coronavirus, a mysterious wave of the disease recently attacked two cities in the country.

A report said that a second wave of the deadly pandemic has hit two cities in the Asian nation (Jilin and Shulan).

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Source: Legit.ng