Governors from nine northern states in Nigeria have agreed to shut down schools for 30 days in the region, as part of measures to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The governors said the measure shall be taken by each of the states, in consultation with the national examination bodies.
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The nine northern states include Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting in Kaduna, which was signed by the Chairman of North-West Governors’ Forum, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina state and Governor Sani Bello, who is the Chairman, North Central Governors’ Forum.
They said the schools will be closed starting from Monday, 23rd March 2020.
The governors also added that sensitisation campaigns to discourage large gatherings until further notice should be encouraged.
“The governors also agreed joint measures to protect citizens from the likely impact of Covid-19.
“Measures shall be taken by each of the states, in consultation with the national examination bodies, to close schools for a period of 30 days, starting from Monday, 23rd March 2020.
“Sensitisation campaigns to discourage large gatherings until further notice.
“States will continue to wage aggressive campaigns to encourage citizens to uphold personal hygiene, including hand washing and environmental sanitation,” the communiqué partly read.
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The communiqué also noted that Kwara and Niger states who were part of the Kaduna meeting will review the security situation in their areas and agree on a joint responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
Present at the meeting were Governors Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna) Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) and Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger), and the Deputy Governor of Kano state, Nasiru Gawuna, who represented Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
Our reporter gathered that the Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq, joined the meeting by telephone.
