Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to stop northern governors from deporting Almajirai from their states.
The House made the call at the plenary on Tuesday following the unanimous adoption of a motion moved by Mrs Aishatu Dukku and Mr Shehu Kakale on the need to halt interstate movement of Almajirai.
Adopting the motion, the House resolved to “urge the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to enforce the interstate travel ban order (by the President) and direct the governors concerned to immediately halt the evacuation of the Almajirai.”
The House also urged the National Centre for Disease Control to “counsel the governors concerned on the threat posed by the evacuation of the children at this critical period.”
The legislative chamber further urged the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to “include the Almajirai children among the beneficiaries of palliatives being distributed by the Federal Government to the less-privileged.”
Also, the House urged the Federal Ministry of Health to examine the health condition of the Almajirai children.
It urged the Northern Governors’ Forum to “rescind their decision on banning the system of education until those already in the system are provided for in the Universal Basic and Technical Education System.”
Moving the motion, Dukku recalled that governors, under the aegis of the Northern Governors’ Forum, had on April 21, 2020, issued a statement where they unanimously decided to ban the Almajirai system.
Dukku said, “The House is worried that the evacuation of the Almajirai 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. The House is concerned that the evacuation of the children is against their fundamental human rights of residing anywhere in Nigeria as guaranteed in Chapter IV of the Constitution.”
