PTF explains how N22.1bn COVID-19 funds was spent

The Permanent Secretary, Office of the Secretary to the Federal Government, Olusegun Adekunle on Monday gave account of how the N22,163,130,411 COVID-19 fund was spent since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country.

Adekunle who represented Boss Mustapha, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, disclosed this while appearing before a Joint Committee of the House of Representatives on COVID-19.

A joint Committee of the House led by Chairman of the House Committee, Wole Oke, had queried the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 over the funds donated and allocated to the fight against the dreaded disease

Oke during the hearing said the engagement was to monitor the expenditure by the PTF and clear the on ‘insinuations’ about COVID-19 funds.

Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts and leader of the Joint Committee, Mr. Wole Oke, said the engagement was to monitor the expenditure by the PTF and clear the air on insinuation above COVID-19 funds.

Adekunle while answering questions from the committee, said the total sum of N22, 163,130,411 had so far been released to the PTF’s operations account, adding that N164, 929,475 has so far been utilized to cater for the management of the affairs of returnees from different parts of the world.

He also said the balance remains in the account, opened by the Account-General of the Federation with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu; and the National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr. Sani Aliyu, are in attendance, while the Minister of Health, Prof Osagie Ehanire, was represented by a Permanent Secretary in the ministry.