PDP Wants Eminent Nigerians’ Group To Handle Palliatives

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately constitute an “Eminent Nigerians Group” to manage donations from the private sector and palliatives from the Federal Government aimed at curtailing the spread of the Coronavirus.
This is even as the party said the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 chaired by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Odinbajo, should immediately hands off the management of palliatives so as to eliminate corruption as well as political and bureaucratic bottlenecks that would impede effective administration of the social panaceas to vulnerable Nigerians.
In a statement issued by spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday, the PDP also asked the President Buhari-led government to halt plans by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to hike electricity tariff, saying Nigerians “are going through excruciating pains and cannot carry the burden of a further increase in costs.”
The statement read: “It is a time we must bring in eminent Nigerians from the private sector to assist in developing and implementing operable target-specific strategies to reach the vulnerable Nigerians across all informal sectors of our economy.
“The party expresses concerns that the Federal Government has so far failed to reach vulnerable Nigerians in the informal sector, including cab driver, ‘Keke’ and ‘Okada’ operators, artisans, labourers, market women, traders, food sellers, fruit vendors, farmers and dealers of perishable goods, motor mechanics, among others, whose survival directly depends on daily income in the markets, shops, and streets, which has been crippled by lockdowns occasioned by the COVID-19.
“Our party is deeply worried about the cries of hungry children whose parents can no longer go out to provide for their families at this critical time.
“The PDP, therefore, holds that the situation at hand requires an urgent involvement of all Nigerians irrespective of political, ethnic or religious persuasion.
“The party calls for special interventions for farmers as well as Nigerians involved in the production, distribution, and marketing of perishable consumer items by undertaking emergency bulk purchase, storage initiatives as well as waivers on loans so as to check waste and buoy production.
“We also urge for strategic intervention for distressed Nigerians such as cab drivers, ‘Keke’ operators, traders and other small-scale entrepreneurs, who took bank loans for their enterprises but have been grounded by COVID-19 pandemic.
“The PDP further demands that the federal government should adopt strategies to cut interest rates on such loans by microfinance and commercial banks in the country.
“In the same vein, our party pleads with landlords, particularly those of residential apartments, to bear with their low-income group tenants, whose businesses have been crippled at this critical time.
“Moreover, the PDP restates its call on President Buhari to reduce the cost of fuel from N125 to the appropriate pump price of between N80 and N90 per litre to mitigate the suffering of Nigerians during this time.