APC group lauds FG’s COVID-19 response

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Legacy Awareness and Campaign Group, has lauded the Federal Government’s COVID-19 response, saying it has created inclusive growth.

Mr Tolu Ogunlesi, a spokesperson for the group, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

Ogunlesi also lauded the federal government for its numerous economic initiatives, saying that such would continue to yield fruits and translate into inclusive growth, as well as socioeconomic prosperity for Nigerians.

“We wish to acknowledge the remarkably clear and firm response of the APC-led federal government on COVID-19 pandemic.

“Nobody anticipated that 2020 will usher in the most disruptive pandemic in the most recent history of humanity.

“However, once the pandemic started, the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration undertook a two-step approach,” he said.

“The steps include protecting the lives of all, preserving the livelihoods of workers and business owners to ensure that their families got through the difficult times in dignity and with hope and peace of mind,” he said.

Ogunlesi enumerated some of the major steps taken by the government in response to the pandemic to include the setting up of an Economic Sustainability Committee chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

He said the committee developed a comprehensive economic stimulus plan, known as the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP).

“The ESP has been widely credited with fast-tracking Nigeria’s exit from the COVID-induced recession, and as a contributor to the robust 5.1 per cent economic growth recorded in February 2021.

“The ESP has included a range of interventions from payroll support, to federal investments in renewable energy for households, to grants for artisans and transport workers, as well as the aviation sector bailout packages.

“Also, recently, the president set up a committee to comprehensively reform the health sector, to build on the efforts already introduced by the administration, including the operationalisation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF),”he said.