Buhari constitutes taskforce on Coronavirus

President Muhammadu Buhari has constituted a 12-man Presidential Task Force for the control of the Coronavirus-19 Disease (COVID-19).

President Buhari, in a statement issued by his media aide, Garba Shehu, on Monday said this was necessary because of the current global outbreak of the novel Coronavirus and its potential of causing significant disruption to health services in the country as well as impacting negatively on the economy.

The President said the action was also in preparation for the unlikely but probable major outbreak of the disease in the country which will require a multi-sectoral inter-governmental approach as advised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) similar to that adopted for the HIV epidemic in the last two decades.

The statement added that the taskforce would be expected to deliver within a maximum period of six months.

The taskforce chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha (SGF), included Dr Sani Aliyu as  National Coordinator; the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire; the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Services, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk; the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu; the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Mahmoud; the Director-General, State Services, Yusuf Bichi; the Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekwazu, and World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative.

Already, the Federal Government had released the second approved payment in the sum of N620 million last Friday, bringing the total payments made so far to N984million in fulfilment of the President’s promise to give the health authorities all they need to keep Nigeria clear of the virus.

Daily Trust reports that two cases of the disease have, however been confirmed in Nigeria as at Monday (today).