News
The PTF Collaboration Model Mitigating COVID-19 in Nigeria
By Chido Nwakanma
There is a long list of organizations and individuals that have been “supporting Nigeria’s emergency response to COVID-19”. Their assistance speaks to the various collaborations and partnerships behind the successful coordination and management of the country’s most significant health emergency in recent memory.
On the exhaustive list include the United Nations, the European Union, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jack Ma Foundation, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, Nigerian Breweries, Nestle Nigeria, BUA Group, Dangote Foundation, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Tolaram Group, Me Cure Industries Limited, Flood Relief Fund, Tata Agro Chemicals, MTN Nigeria, Friesland Campina WAMCO.
The support from donors, private sector, individuals both in Nigeria and outside of the country are too many to detail.
However, this positive landscape of private and donor support to the COVID response was marred recently with controversy. Much drama attended the discovery of warehouses containing COVID-19 palliatives for citizens across several states in the wake of the #ENDSARS protests.
Disgruntled citizens, hoodlums, and even security officials scrambled for palliatives while unscrupulous individuals engaged in vandalism of properties.
These actions shocked well-meaning Nigerians, leading to many questions and many lessons for all parties. The key revelation was the unravelling of the collaboration model that secured the procurement and deployment of the palliatives in question.
The Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) is a private-sector task force partnering with the Federal Government, through the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF), with the sole aim of supporting Nigeria’s COVID-19 response. They are a shining star in that exhaustive list of support to Nigeria.
CACOVID, following consultations with partners including the PTF, purchased food items and supplies for distribution by State Governments to citizens. It was the public face of a synergy that has worked well since Nigeria began its COVID-19 response with the establishment of a collaboration model to drive the efforts.
CACOVID garnered resources and expertise across industries to provide technical and operational support while funding and building advocacy through aggressive community-focused awareness campaigns.
In alignment with the PTF, CACOVID was instrumental in the construction of isolation and treatment centres as well as supporting Intensive Care Units and molecular testing laboratories across the country.
Most recently, they supported the re-opening of the Lagos and Abuja international airports with the establishment of the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP – www. https://nitp.ncdc.gov.ng) responsible for channeling all international travellers through a protocol of mandatory PCR testing, registration, self-isolation and retesting upon arrival to Nigeria.
CACOVID has worked closely with the PTF to deliver its programmes through a coordinated approach that is an exemplar of both government-to-private sector partnership.
PTF has replicated this model across the government and donor landscape. Through its Secretariat, it coordinates the efforts of the various MDAs and partners to avoid duplication of efforts and facilitate the seamless and targeting channelling of resources.
It works closely with the donor community and multilateral organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the UK Cabinet Office, the World Bank and various agencies in the United Nations System.
It got assistance on project management and governance from firms such as Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), Nigeria Economic Summit Group, eHealth, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and many more.
Another outcome of effective collaboration is the establishment of the COVID transparency trackers that foster the PTF’s mandated good governance and accountability frameworks. These are the Incidence and Response Tracker Dashboard developed by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the COVID-19 Resource Tracking Dashboard developed by the United Nations Development Programme.
PTF deployed the Incidence and Response Tracker Dashboard in support of the National COVID-19 Multi-Sectoral Pandemic Response Plan to publicize and track the resource requirements across all 36 states and the FCT.
They also bridge gaps that exist in three critical priority areas – testing; treatment and isolation; and contact tracing and tracking.
As a result of the PTF partnership model, the UN launched the One UN COVID-19 Response Basket Fund to complement efforts to mobilise resources in support of Nigeria’s pandemic response plan.
The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 developed the program in partnership with the UN System. The Basket Fund serves as the centralized COVID-19 Financing and Investment Platform.
Different stakeholders (including UN, other multilateral and bilateral donors, as well as private sector donors, foundations and philanthropists) channel their financial support to the multi-sectoral efforts of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Response. This enables transparency and accountability.
Chairman of the PTF and the Secretary to the Federal Government, Mr Boss Mustapha credits the PTF successes to its broad-based collaborations within government and across the private sector and donor community.
The PTF and its partners must continue and scale up the interventions in a transparent and proactive manner. They must also mitigate any gaps and failures within their partnership structures.
Specifically, the collaboration with CACOVID and the State Governments to ensure effective distribution of relief materials urgently and equitably to circumvent delays and provide much-needed economic support to the vulnerable.
Chido Nwakanma is a Marketing Communications expert
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has warned Nigerians against transacting with three fake Nigerian firms, citing fraudulent incorporation documents and registration numbers not issued by the commission.
According to the CAC, these companies are using fake certificates of incorporation with two different RC numbers each, none of which exist in the commission’s official records.
The affected companies are SPEF Cooperative Society Ltd with RC Numbers 1265884 and 512862, UPIL Staff Cooperative Society Ltd with RC Numbers 1265837 and 553220, and PREM Staff Cooperative Society Ltd with RC Numbers 1265844 and 545901.
The CAC warns that any Nigerian conducting business with these entities does so at their own risk.
“Anyone that transacts any business with the above-mentioned companies does so at their own risk,” the commission warned.
The commission further advised potential partners and investors to verify registration details directly through its official portal before signing contracts or making payments.
Similarly, the CAC, in a bid to enhance its services, introduced an AI-powered business registration platform on July 3, designed to streamline incorporations.
This new system offers instant name reservations, automated business-name suggestions, and same-day registration using a National Identification Number (NIN).
Additionally, the commission plans to review its service fees starting August 1, aiming to make its services more efficient and cost-effective.
The African Development Bank, in partnership with the International Labour Organization, has launched a transformative system to mainstream youth employment, skills development, and entrepreneurship across its investments.
The approach, called the Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System, is aligned with the Bank’s latest Ten-Year Strategy, which places Africa’s young people at the center of development efforts to maximize the impact of every dollar invested, turning demographics into a dividend.
The Marker System ensures that Bank projects spanning diverse sectors, such as agriculture, transport, energy, water, and education, systematically incorporate components that enhance youth employability, foster entrepreneurship, and build market-relevant skills.
“The Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System is about ensuring Africa’s young people have a real say and active role in building sustainable economies and creating jobs – not as passive recipients of youth programs,” said Dr. Beth Dunford, the Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development. “This transformation of Bank practices and systems is a step toward making sure our investments have a positive impact on Africa’s young women and men.”
The integrated system has three focus areas:
Youth: Supporting youth-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises through targeted investments and operational integration.
Skills: Expanding access to practical, market-driven training and apprenticeships to enhance career prospects.
Jobs: Ensuring Bank-funded projects create sustainable job opportunities, particularly by developing youth skills for employability and the promotion of youth-led businesses in priority value chains.
Each year, around 10 to 12 million young Africans enter the labor market, which offers only three million formal jobs annually. The Bank will prioritize youth entrepreneurship and mobilize private sector partnerships to strengthen industry-oriented skills training as well as job creation over the coming decade.
“[This initiative] is very important because it allows us to significantly contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #8 that includes decent work for all,” said Peter van Rooij, Director of Multilateral Partnerships and Development Cooperation at the International Labour Organization. “It also allows the International Labour Organization to influence the Bank’s work, to support their lending that is more geared toward more job creation and better jobs in a sustainable way.”
The Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System is modeled on the success of the Bank’s Gender Marker System and its online dashboard, which categorize Bank projects based on their contribution to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Similarly, the new system will feature an online platform enabling Bank staff and consultants to access real-time data for preparing country strategy papers, mid-term reviews, annual reports, project supervision, and reporting on youth-related skills, businesses and jobs outcomes.
The Bank has just launched a pilot version of the Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System in readiness for the full implementation in 2026. This system will enhance data tracking, improve estimates of youth skills attainment and employment, strengthen labor market information systems, and support policymakers in making evidence-based decisions that drive meaningful change.
The International Labour Organization provided technical support for the system’s development with financial support from the Bank’s Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund. The Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System is the first deliberate action of its kind developed by a development finance institution worldwide.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has revealed plans to commence investigation into the activities of an entity operating under FF Tiffany, allegedly running a fraudulent investment scheme that has defrauded citizens.
A statement by the SEC on Tuesday in Abuja said preliminary information revealed that the scheme, which promised investors unusually high and unrealistic returns, had resulted in the loss of several billions of naira.
The SEC said it viewed the activity as a threat to investor confidence and the overall integrity of the financial system.
The commission assured the public that it was working closely with law enforcement agencies and other relevant bodies to bring everyone involved in the unlawful operation to justice.
According to SEC, those found culpable will be prosecuted in accordance with the Investment and Securities Act and regulatory provisions.
SEC reiterated its earlier warnings to the general public to desist from engaging in Ponzi or unregistered investment schemes that promised guaranteed or exaggerated returns.
“These schemes are not registered with the SEC and do not offer investor protection under the law.
“The commission is currently investigating 79 schemes and will make a statement on its findings at the conclusion of the investigation,” the SEC said.
The commission encouraged investors to conduct due diligence and verify the registration status of any investment firm or product by visiting the SEC website or contacting the commission directly through official channels.
SEC said it remained committed to its mandate of protecting investors, ensuring fair practices, and maintaining confidence in Nigeria’s capital market.
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