President Muhammadu Buhari has indicated that he could extend the lockdown directive to other states in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The President also hinted that he would extend the ongoing 14-day restriction on movements and other activities imposed on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states, effective from 11pm on Monday, March 30, for an initial period of 14 days.
The 14-day lockdown would end on Monday, April 13 but there are indications that the federal government might call for an extension as developments so far had indicated that the number of persons with the virus as well as fatalities had grown in the last two weeks.
While the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infected persons stood at 131 and two fatalities at about 9pm on March 30th, the numbers had risen to 305 confirmed cases and seven fatalities as at 9:30pm on April 10.
Although as at the time of filing this report, there was yet to be any known official communication as to whether government would be extending the lockdown order, other messages from relevant quarters and the figures available suggested a possible extension of the order.
Efforts to get word from government spokespersons from the State House and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) were unfruitful.
Those contacted also said they had no information to that regard.
While the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, “no, I have no information on the timeline for the lockdown,” the Director of Information in the OSGF, Mr Willie Bassey, said “no one knows, it depends on the advice he’d receives”.
A statement issued on Saturday by Mr Shehu gave the clearest indication of the President’s next line of action.
In the statement, he explained that President Buhari wholeheartedly thanked all Nigerians for their patience, resolve and strong determination to defeat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.
The President said: “We realize that today, there will be sons and daughters unable to visit their parents, and elders that are isolated from young ones. And there will be those who live day-to-day, eating as they earn, who face real and present suffering.
“No elected government could ask more of the citizens of the country that elected them than today we ask of you. But we must ask you – once more – to observe restrictions on movement where they are in place, and follow the instructions of our scientists and medical advisers: stay home, wash your hands, save lives.
It would be recalled that the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force PTF on (COVID-19) Pandemic, Dr Sani Aliyu, on Friday during a media briefing, warned that relaxing the lockdown and other measures now could be counter-productive.
He was reacting to reports some governors were suggesting that their people could beat the restrictions and social distancing advice to attend churches for the Easter celebrations or gather for Jumat service.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also warned against lifting lockdown around the world.
WHO DG, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries should be cautious about easing restrictions, even as some struggle with the economic impact.
“Lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to a deadly resurgence,” he said.
“The way down can be as dangerous as the way up if not managed properly.”
