President Muhammadu Buhari has addressed the nation for the second time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining why the lockdown he imposed on Abuja, Lagos, and Ogun states had to be extended.
He spoke in a nationwide broadcast on Monday where he thanked Nigerians for their sacrifice even as he urged them to do more.
See: Full text of Buhari’s second nationwide address on COVID-19
“On 30th March 2020, when we started our lockdown in conforming with medical and scientific advice, the total number of confirmed cases across the world was over 780,000.
“Yesterday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases globally was over one million, eight hundred and fifty thousand. This figure is more than double in two weeks! In the last fourteen days alone, over 70,000 people have died due to this disease.
“In the same period, we have seen the health system of even the most developed nations being overwhelmed by this virus. Here in Nigeria, we had 131 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 12 States on 30th March 2020. We had two fatalities then.
“This morning, Nigeria had 323 confirmed cases in twenty States. Unfortunately we now have ten fatalities. Lagos State remains the center and accounts for 54% of the confirmed cases in Nigeria. When combined with the FCT, the two locations represent over 71% of the confirmed cases in Nigeria.”
Buhari added that “With this in mind and having carefully considered the briefings and Report from the Presidential Task Force and the various options offered, it has become necessary to extend the current restriction of movement in Lagos and Ogun States as well as the FCT for another 14 days effective from 11:59 pm on Monday, 13th of April, 2020. I am therefore once again asking you all to work with Government in this fight.
“This is not a joke. It is a matter of life and death. Mosques in Makkah and Madina have been closed. The Pope celebrated Mass on an empty St. Peter’s Square. The famous Notre Dame cathedral in Paris held Easter Mass with less than 10 people. India, Italy and France are in complete lockdown. Other countries are in the process of following suit. We can not be lax.”
Similarly, the president disclosed that he has directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to expand the current social register from 2.6 million households to 3.6 million households in the next two weeks.
