Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the country’s Governors to work closely with the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, to engender better harmony in the daunting task of checking the pandemic.
However, making the PTF to work closely with the Governors will require more than presidential directives.
Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, disclosed this in a statement he circulated in Abuja on Monday, May 18.
Although, the President said during an online meeting on Monday with the Governors’ Forum that the PTF had briefed him on next steps in the national response to the pandemic and he had directed that they work very closely with the Governors, he failed to provide a framework for that.
President Buhari said the pandemic was “beyond technology, power, and resources,” noting that countries that had all those, were recording highest casualties round the world.
“We have to be very careful. We need to continue to educate and persuade the people to accept the reality of the situation, and do all that is necessary to stay safe,” the President said.
Mr. Shehu said the meeting also discussed economic and security issues, among others, with the Governors commending the President on the “leadership and direction” he has given the country in combating COVID-19.
