By Dan-Maryam Zayamu
President Muhammadu Buhari has again appealed to Nigerians to strictly abide by the approved guidelines and protocols in order to flatten the Covid-19 curve.
He made the call while delivering the year 2020 Democracy Day message to the nation on Friday morning.
The President insisted that, “there is hope for us all if we take individual and collective responsibility.”
His government, he stressed, “is determined to turn this Covid-19 challenge into a motivation to action by building a nation-wide public health care system that will help us overcome the Covid-19 pandemic and prepare for any future outbreak.
“Already, we have begun to look inward and I charge our inventors, researchers and scientists to come up with solutions to cure Covid-19.”
While lamenting that the impact of Covid-19 has disrupted the economic system of the country, he revealed that: “As part of the strategy to create jobs in reducing the effect of Covid-19 on our youths, I directed the employment of 774, 000 Nigerians.
“These youths will be engaged in Special Public Works Programme aimed at cushioning the effects of economic downturn.
“Each of the 774 local government areas in the country will be allotted 1,000 slots. I am pleased to report that this programme has commenced.”
The President regretted that the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the global economy and all known socio-economic systems and that it has also brought grief and pain to families that have lost their loved ones.
“Like many Nigerians, I feel the grief and pain not only as your President but also as someone who has lost a close member of my staff and some relatives and friends.
“In order to have a robust National response, I approved a Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 to provide guidance and leadership in tackling the pandemic nationwide.
“State Governments also constituted their own Covid-19 Task Forces. Complementing this was the establishment of a National Emergency Operations Centre responsible for providing technical and professional guidance in the National Response.
“The overall objective of the PTF Covid-19 is to ensure that the pandemic does not overwhelm our health systems, while ensuring that we maintain an effective Case Management System to help in containing the spread of the virus.”
