COVID-19: Buhari Appoints Osinbajo As Chairman, Economic Sustainability Committee

President Muhammadu Buhari has set up an Economic Sustainability Committee with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as chairman.

He has also okayed financial services providers to operate during the restriction on movements and activities that he imposed on Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States to curtail the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, disclosed this during a press briefing by the task force in Abuja on Monday.

The SGF also announced that the president has constituted an Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) to be headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Mustapha said: “For economic sustainability, Mr President has, today, approved the constitution of a committee to be chaired by His Excellency, the Vice President.

“The terms of reference of the committee will be announced soon.”

The SGF maintained that the response strategy of the PTF will remain focused on testing, detection, contact tracing, containment, slowing down the spread and management of coronavirus.

Mustapha observed that a lot of questions had been asked by the public about testing, noting that the PTF was always willing to provide relevant information and clarifications.

He pointed out that several measures have been put in place by the government to address the problems posed by COVID-19 disease, saying that the PTF has been “methodical, learning from the experiences of other nations and adapting solutions that suit our environment.”

In his remarks at the briefing, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, who is a member of the PTF, announced that Nigeria had recorded the second death from COVID-19.

He said the deceased had an underlying illness.

The minister noted that the Ministry of Health had intensified its efforts at contacts tracing, adding that the strategy remained prompt detection of suspected cases.

Ehanire stated: “We have intensified contact tracing and our strategy remains to promptly detect cases, isolate them and follow up with their contacts and also isolate and treat in other to reduce the spread of the infection.

“As of today the 30th of March 2020, we have recorded 111 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria of which 68 are in Lagos, 21 FCT, seven in Oyo, three in Ogun, two in Bauchi, two in Edo, two in Osun, two in Enugu and one each in Benue, Ekiti, Kaduna and Rivers States.

“The high number of cases in Lagos and Abuja is due to their function as country gateways for air travel.”

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