TheCable

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), says he never knew Nigeria’s healthcare system was in a very bad state until the coronavirus pandemic.

Mustapha said his role as the chairman of the presidential task force on COVID-19 opened his eye to the current state of Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure.

He was speaking when the task force met with the leadership of the national assembly in Abuja on Thursday regarding the pandemic.

“I can tell you for sure, I never knew that our entire healthcare infrastructure was in the state in which it is util I was appointed to do this work,” the SGF said.

He said if developed countries are overwhelmed and struggling to contain the coronavirus, “then Nigeria needs to improve its own”.

“My prayer is that Nigeria’s situation does not escalate to that extent because the country lacked what is required to handle the situation,” he added.

Mustapha also harped on the need for transparency and accountability in managing the health crisis, adding that the task force will not be directly involved in the disbursement of cash donations for COVID-19.

“The accountant-general of the federation has already published the account details for collection through some commercial banks and also provided the modalities for its utilisation,” he said.

“All the main COVID-19 accounts shall be domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). However, all non-cash donations shall be duly received by the PTF, acknowledged, documented and appropriately deployed.”