Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP), Chief Azubuko Joel Udah, has called for transparency in the manager of funds donated by international agencies, corporate organisations and individuals in support of the fight against covid-19.
The principal partner of an Abuja based law firm, Azubuko Udah and Co, made the call recently in his Chamber while speaking to our reporters.
He also urged the Presidential Task Force (PTF) led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustaspha, to make room for open door for accountability of all the funds donated publicly and in secret.
Reiterating the need to be transparency, DIG Udah lamented that several billions of naira donated by captains of industries, corporate organisation and individuals to fight the covid-19 were yet to be accounted for and warned that government has a duty to keep the income and expenditures open to public scrutiny.
He stated: “Let the Presidential Task Force make every provision, donations and contributions open and accountable.
“Every amount of money that is brought by the international bodies, individual and corporate organisation should be transparently utilised and efforts should be made to use the donations to deal with this situation called corona virus.
“If it involves giving out palliatives, they should do it. If it is to pay the health workers who are in frontline of duties, they should pay them.
“The monies should not be diverted or encourage corruption, because if it is used for corruption, then the country will go back to square one”.
He advised government to pay more attention on the dissemination of information on covid-19 to Nigerians on a daily basis, calling on the Ministry of Health to widen its scope on community search of suspected cases, even as he commended the PTF for their efforts toward curtailing the virus in Nigeria.
