April 2, Things You Need To Know 

• The Special Committee of the National Economic Council on COVID-19 held its second meeting on Tuesday as it continues its task of coordinating the Federal and State governments’ responses to the impact of COVID-19 on Nigerians

The NEÇ Committee, comprising the Vice President at the meeting held via videoconference anchored from the Presidential Villa are Governors Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti; Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna; Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa; Mohammed Abubakar, Jigawa; Godwin Obaseki, Edo; David Umahi, Ebonyi; Dapo Abiodun, Ogun; and Atiku Bagudu, Kebbi, is working towards developing additional measures to alleviate the challenges being faced by Nigerians because of the implications of the global pandemic in the country.

• The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday confirmed twenty-three new cases of coronavirus in the country, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Nigeria to 174.

The centre said of the twenty-three new cases, 9 were reported in Lagos, 7 in the FCT, 5 in Akwa Ibom, 1 in Kaduna and 1 in Bauchi State.

• The Federal Government, on Wednesday, said that all markets in states where a lockdown was implemented (Lagos, FCT and Ogun) will be allowed to open between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm daily.

Aliyu Sani, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 during a briefing by members of the taskforce in Abuja, added that markets, shops and stalls selling food and groceries shall be allowed to open to customers between the hours of 10:00 am and 2:00 pm while supermarkets and food stores are also allowed to open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

• The Ondo State Government has ordered the closure of all borders that serve as entry points into the state.

The state government, which gave the order on Wednesday evening, said it was part of measures to secure the state from the spread of the raging coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

Read Also: Coronavirus: Anambra Begins Teaching Of SS3 Students On Radio

• The Presidency has fired back at Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, for faulting the lockdown order by the federal government in some states and the FCT over the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Presidential aide, Garba Shehu declared that Soyinka is not a medical professor, adding that his qualifications are in English literature, his prizes are for writing books and plays for theatres.

• President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, approved the release of 70,000 tonnes of grains from Nigeria’ National Strategic Grain Reserves, to be distributed to the poor and vulnerable amid the coronavirus lockdown.

A tweet on the verified Twitter handle of the Presidency said the grains are for persons in states that have recorded cases of coronavirus and for people whose livelihoods will be affected by the lockdown.

• The Federal Government has commenced payment of N20, 000 each to five thousand beneficiaries of its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, who disclosed this on Wednesday, at Kwali Area Council in the FCT, said the payment was in line with the directives by President Muhammadu Buhari.

• Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State and his wife, Prof. Hafsat Abdullahi Ganduje, have both tested negative for COVID-19, the deadly disease worrying global health and threatening nations of the world.

Ganduje, who thanked Almighty Allah for the result, which showed negative, prayed for their quick recovery of those already suffering from the illness.