Buhari to make difficult coronavirus decision this week

The president and state governors would agree on how best to restart the Nigerian economy this week.

After a teleconference with state governors this week, President Muhammadu Buhari would inform the nation about certain tough decisions on the economy.

Buhari imposed a two-week lockdown in the nation’s economic capital city of Lagos, the industrial state of Ogun and the capital city of Abuja on March 30, as one in a slew of measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.

On April 13, the lockdowns were further extended by an additional 14 days.

Several state governments, like the northern commercial hub of Kano and the crude oil mining hub of Rivers, have also imposed lockdowns in their territories because of COVID-19.

All of which has left the Nigerian economy in dire straits, with a crash in the price of crude oil in the international market thrown into the mix as well.

President Muhammadu Buhari and the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu. [Twitter/@BashirAhmaad]

Director General of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, says the president will make some difficult decisions on COVID-19 containment this week.

“President Buhari will on Wednesday have a teleconference with the governors and there will be some difficult decisions to be made on how to restart the economy, especially on what to start and what not to start,” Ihekweazu was quoted as saying by The Nation.

The NCDC boss reportedly made the remarks during a courtesy call on Katsina Governor Aminu Masari.

He spoke as the governor demanded the establishment of a testing centre in Katsina to enable speedy confirmation of samples of suspected COVID-19 cases in the state.

Nigeria has currently confirmed 782 COVID-19 cases across 24 states and the capital city of Abuja.