Assert; provide for (8)
I believe the answer is:
maintain
I believe this is a double definition.
'assert' is the first definition.
(I know that assert can be written as maintain)
'provide for' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
(Other definitions for maintain that I've seen before include "Assert" , "Keep up - carry on" , "declare" , "Continue with an opinion" , "Keep in good order" .)