The House of Representatives at the plenary on Tuesday urged the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to enforce the inter-state
travel ban order as well as direct the state governors concerned to immediately
halt the evacuation of the Almajiris.
Recently, the Northern Governors’ Forum under the
chairmanship of Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, had unanimously agreed to
return all Almajiris to their respective states of origin across the region.
The House also urged the Nigerian Centre for
Disease Control (NCDC) to counsel the governors concerned on the threat posed
by the evacuation of the children at this critical period.
It further urged the Federal Ministry of
Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to include the Almaijiri children
among the beneficiaries of the palliatives being distributed by the federal government
to the less privileged.
It also urged the Northern Governors’ Forum to
provide the Almajiris with the requisite tools for the universal basic and
technical education system.
These resolutions were sequel to the unanimous
adoption of a motion of urgent public importance titled: 'Urgent need to look into
the evacuation of Almajiri amid the coronavirus pandemic', sponsored by Hon.
Aishatu Dukku and Hon. Shehu Kakale.
Presenting the motion, Dukku noted that about 10
million children attend the Almajiri schools in Northern Nigeria with over 500,000
Almajiris living in Kano State alone where majority of the children are being
evacuated from.
She said the evacuation of the children is in violation
of the inter-state travel ban currently enforced by the government.
She recalled that the statement by the Northern
Governors Forum hinged on the risk that the children are exposed to coronavirus
pandemic.
The lawmaker expressed concerns that the evacuation
is jeopardising the fight against COVID-19 due to the high level of movement of
the children from different places and its attendant high risk of infection.
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