Buhari To Address Nigerians As 14-Day Lockdown Expires Midnight

With less than 24 hours to the expiration of the 14-day lockdown declared in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory by President Muhammadu Buhari, the presidency on Monday said the president’s next line of action would be communicated to Nigerians before midnight.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said Buhari will broadcast to the nation on Monday, April 13, 2020 at 7pm via the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).

President Buhari had on March 29 ordered the restriction of movement in those states to enable the Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), amongst others, curb the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

Some state governments had also emulated the president by putting some restrictive measures in place to prevent the spread of the virus in their respective states.

The measures had been greeted with mixed reactions, with many lamenting how the lockdown order had affected their means of livelihoods.

But some prominent Nigerians and organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and religious leaders in the country, have cautioned the federal and state governments against relaxing the measures “too soon”.

WHO, on Friday, warned that lifting the restrictions could aggravate the spread of the virus in Africa.

WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, lamented that there had been an “alarming acceleration” of the virus including community transmission in 16 countries of Africa.