Governors agree on 14 days inter-state lockdown to curb spread of COVID-19

Governors of the 36 states of Nigeria on Wednesday, April 22, “unanimously” agreed to impose an inter-state lockdown in the country over the next two weeks to check the state-to-state spread of COVID-19.

The governors during the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) meeting reached the agreement after receiving a briefing from the governors of Lagos, Bauchi, Oyo and Ogun states who shared their experiences and lessons from the fight against COVID-19.

A communique issued by the NGF chairman and governor of Ekiti state, Kayode Fayemi, at the end of the virtual meeting said only essential services would be permitted.

The state governors called for the decentralization of the COVID-19 response, saying it is the best chance of nipping the spread of the virus in communities. They also raised a serious concern over the rising spread of the virus among health workers and resolved to work with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure that health workers are “adequately” provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) and are “constantly” trained on the use of protective gears.

The NGF chairman also briefed the forum on the situation of the pandemic and coordination efforts with the federal government, multilateral and bilateral partners, and the private sector.

A minute’s silence was held in honour of all Nigerians who had lost their lives from coronavirus, especially health workers who were in the front lines of the epidemic.