Governors to meet Wednesday on healthcare, CBN loan to states, others 

Governors of the 36 states in the country will meet on Wednesday to deliberate on the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loans to states and the Federal Government’s infrastructure refund to five states among other key national issues.

The meeting will be the 13th teleconference of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.

The Media and Public Affairs of the NGF, Dr. Abdulrazaque Barkindo, who disclosed this in a statement, said the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, would brief the governors on the Risk Communication on COVID-19, the arm of the PTF saddled with the task of educating Nigerians on the existence and dangers of the pandemic.

The statement read: “The meeting which opens with the chairman’s remarks commences at 2:00 p.m.

“The Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi will brief the governors on his key activities on behalf of the Forum, in the last fortnight, and open it up for deliberation.

“The invitation sent out to all the governors by the Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr. Asishana Bayo Okauru, states that the chairman would be giving the governors an update on the COVID-19 pandemic, the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability Program (SFTAS), the recently struck partnership between the Forum and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on agriculture, his, Dr. Fayemi’s, recent meeting with the Chief Justice of Nigeria and another partnership between the Forum and the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) which revolves mainly around gender-based violence, among many others.

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“Other issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic which will be put on the table for the governors to debate include the Federal Government support to states.

“The Governor of Delta State, and Head of the NGF subcommittee on the Presidential Task Force on the pandemic, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, will also brief the Forum on the progress being made by the Task Force and whether or not the much required synergy between the federal and sub-national governments is yielding any fruits.

“This 13th meeting which looks heavy on three sectors, namely Health, the Economy and Agriculture will accommodate three presentations. It is expected that the governors will deliberate over the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, Loans to states from the CBN, the infrastructure refund to about five states, and PAYE 2.

“Apart from the presentation by Dr. Sani Aliyu, Ms. Yue Man Lee of the World Bank will make a presentation on the deadlines and verification of the SFTAS program in the states before Mr. Olatunde Akande, the NGF Agric Advisor, takes the stage for a presentation on the Anchor Borrowers program that he is spearheading, in which the NGF is partnering with the CBN as a facilitator.

“The virtual meeting is expected to last about five hours.”

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