Buhari extends lockdown in Abuja, Lagos, Ogun by one week

Buhari extends lockdown in Abuja, Lagos, Ogun by one week

President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State by one week.

From next week Monday, the president said, the lockdown will be relaxed in the three states to night curfews (8 p.m. to 6 a.m.).

The president said this on Monday night while addressing Nigerians on the COVID-19 outbreak.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States shall remain in place until these new ones come into effect on Monday, 4th May 2020,” Mr Buhari said.

The three states have been on a lockdown for four weeks.

In his address, Mr Buhari said he was approving a ‘phased and gradual easing’ of lockdown measures in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun.

Monday’s address was the third by the president since the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country.

The president said the measures were taken based on the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the various federal government committees who reviewed the socio-economic impact of the restrictions and the Nigeria Governors Forum.

“However, this will be followed strictly with aggressive reinforcement of testing and contact tracing measures while allowing the restoration of some economic and business activities in certain sectors,” he noted.

The First Lockdown
President Buhari had declared a two-week lockdown of Lagos, Abuja and Ogun during his first address on the pandemic on March 29 to enable the country tackle the coronavirus pandemic.