The House of Representatives has frowned at the idea of schools reopening on Monday, January 18.
The lower house cited a surge in COVID-19 cases for its position.
Reacting to the January 18 date for schools to reopen, Julius Ihonvbere, Chairman House Committee on Basic Education, said the reopening will pose a threat to the fight against the second wave of COVID-19.
Ihonvbere who spoke via a statement said that the legislative arm was not reached before the federal government arrived at the decision, adding that the resumption date be postponed by three months.
He also lamented that there are no “verifiable and sustainable arrangements to protect and secure” the students during the pandemic.
“We are particularly concerned that when the infection rates hovered around 500 and under, schools were closed; but now that it hovers well above 1,000 infections daily, schools are being reopened.
“Why are we rushing to reopen schools without adequate verifiable and sustainable arrangements to protect and secure our children?
“They did not consult us; at least in my committee, nobody from the ministry spoke to me. I have been in Abuja. And I am not sure that they spoke to any of my members.”
Presently, Nigeria has 108,943 cases of COVID-19.
This is according to data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
On Saturday, January 16, the disease control agency announced 1598 new cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
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