President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the disbursement of 70,000 metric tons of grains to alleviate the pains of the masses caused by the ravaging Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic.
Boss Mustapha, Secretary-General to the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 made the announcement on Wednesday. He disclosed the first tranche will be disbursed to states which are heavily affected by the lockdown, Lagos Ogun and FCT while the remaining states will get their share in due time.
“The President has approved the released 70,000 metric tons of grains from the National Strategic Reserve, for distribution to the poor, the vulnerable and those whose livelihoods will be affected by the lockdown.
“The first tranche of about 6,000 metric tons will go to Lagos, Ogun and the FCT, while the remaining will go to other frontline states in the fight against COVID-19.
Boss Mustapha also disclosed that President Buhari has partially exempted operators of the oil stream sector to continue with their operations.
“In the continuing effort to ensure very minimal disruption of upstream oil and gas exploration and operation in Nigeria, Mr President has approved limited operations exemptions for operating companies, services and logistics companies in the Nigerian upstream sector.
“They will ensure regular gas supplies to power turbines that supply domestic electricity,” he said.
Speaking on citizens’ compliance with the lockdown, the PTF boss expressed his satisfaction at the manner in which major citizens obeyed the lockdown directive while noting that an implementation guide and protocol for the directive had been initiated.
“We have received situation reports from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Inter-State traffic across the Country as at Tuesday, 31st March, 2020. Indications are that there was a reasonable level of compliance with the Presidential directive which has led to great reduction of traffic on major highways. We have however received reports of challenges arising from the enforcement of the Presidential directives by security agents generally and in States where Governors have also imposed their own measures.
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“As we continue to dialogue to remove the bottlenecks, I am pleased to inform you that the PTF has developed an Implementation Guide and Protocols for the COVID-19 Lockdown Policy. This document will be widely circulated to all security agencies and will be discussed with sub-national entities for the purpose of building synergy in the fight against the virus.
“In the course of this briefing, the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps will bring you details of the nationwide traffic situation while the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 will provide the details on the guidelines and protocols for the Lockdown.
“I however assure you that these guidelines and protocols will be published in the national dailies and broadcast on the News networks