The ministry came under heavy criticism over its perceived poor handling of palliative distribution in the aftermath of the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

Many claimed that the ministry shortchanged vulnerable Nigerians with its handling of the exercise, particularly the claim that yet-to-be-disclosed billions of naira were spent to feed pupils from poor homes during the period of the lockdown.

But the Minister in charge of the ministry, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, told the Senate Committee on Special Duty penultimate week that civil society organisations would henceforth be involved in the distribution of palliatives.

The minister spoke when she appeared before the Senate panel to explain her ministry’s utilisation of the COVID-19 intervention fund allocated to it.

She said N2.457bn was released to the ministry in respect of the COVID-19 rapid response and that it was part of the N32.4bn allocated to it.

She said N30bn had yet to be released to her ministry and that past ugly experiences had made her officials involve other bodies, especially the NGOs in future distribution.

However, a former Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, told our correspondent on Thursday that the ministry would have to disclose details of its distribution strategies before any form of collaboration with NGOs would work.

Odinkalu, who is currently coordinating a coalition of several civil society groups, also said the government should not use its proposed collaboration with CSOs to gain credibility.

He said, “This (collaboration) cannot be done by co-optation. If the government wants to discuss the concept and strategy of what it calls ‘palliatives’ with CSOs, they are welcome. However, they cannot settle on a mechanism of mismanaging public resources and then decide to co-opt CSOs with crumbs as bribes in order to insulate themselves from deserved criticism. That sucks terribly!”