The Governors of the 36 States of the federation “unanimously” agreed on Wednesday to implement an inter-State lockdown in the country over the next two weeks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic from State to State.
The governors, operating under the umbrella of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), agreed after being briefed by the Governors of Lagos, Bauchi, Oyo and Ogun States who shared their experiences and lessons from the fight against coronavirus.
The NGF chairman and governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, issued a statement at the end of the sixth COVID-19 teleconference meeting which said only essential services would be permitted. State governors called for the decentralization of the COVID-19 response as the best chance of hindering the spread of the virus in communities with over 25 States now affected by the spread of the virus and increasing evidence of community transmission.
NGF members also expressed worry concernning the rising spread of the virus among health workers and intend to work with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to make sure the health workers are “adequately” provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) and are “constantly” trained on the use of protective gears.
This came after an update from the NGF Secretariat on the number of COVID-19 cases in the country. The Governors also agreed to set up COVID-19 committees at the regional level to be headed by their State Commissioners of Health, to strengthen coordinated implementation of necessary public health recommendations across States.
The statement also said that regional committees will continue to interface with the State Task Force Committees on COVID-19 already established in each State.
The NGF Chairman gave the forum a breifing on the rapid growing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and coordination efforts with the federal government, multilateral and bilateral partners, and the private sector through the Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID).
The forum held a minute’s silence in honour of all Nigerians who lost their lives due to the pandemic and health workers who were in the front lines of the epidemic. The NGF also congratulated the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who after nearly four weeks of testing positive and observing a very strict medical regime, has now tested negative twice for the coronavirus.
Members also sent condolence to President Muhammadu Buhari and the people of Borno State on the passing of the Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari, who died on April 17, 2020 in the line of duty to the country.
President Buhari currently imposed lockdown in only the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun States to put a stop to the spread of the novel pandemic coronavirus.
Other States have taken similar measures to fight the deadly virus but the federal government has not implemented a national lockdown.
Health experts say the country may be heading towards the need for nationwide lockdown to stop the virus. However, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, had earlier in the day denied proposing a national lockdown to tackle COVID-19 in the country.
Aliyu made the claim on Wednesday in Abuja, at the 17th joint national briefing of the PTF on COVID-19, after the Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Chikwe Ihekweazu hinted on Monday that President Buhari will make some very difficult decisions next week about the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
As at Tuesday 21 April, 2020, the official cases in the country stand at 782.
Source:https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/breaking-governors-agree-on-14-days-national-covid-19-lockdown.html