The secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), on Monday said only Lagos, Ogun and the federal capital territory territory (FCT) are on lockdown, saying the restriction of movements in other states are illegal.
Most states in Nigeria went into lock down to stop the spread of the virus.
But the SGF argued that “As a nation, our response must be guided, systematic and professional. There is a need for consistency across the nation,”
“All inconsistencies in policy guidelines between federal and state agencies will be eliminated. I referred you to paragraph 29 of the president’s broadcast. We are mindful of the fact that there are those inconsistencies in policies. Such states began to implement their lockdown before the president’s broadcast.
“The president’s broadcast was very definitive and categorical, we are only locking down Lagos, Ogun and the federal capital. Those are the only three designated areas for the lockdown now.”
On the closure of state borders, he said: “I will make some calls to some security agencies in those borders. I expected that after Mr. President’s broadcast what should ordinarily happen is that, if you had stopped people from getting to their destinations that broadcast should have enabled you release those people to get to their destinations,” he said.
“You can put proactive measures like a toll gate to ensure that you test them and allow them get to their destinations. That was what we did at the airport before we finally locked down the airport.”
According to The Cable, SGF said the lockdown, as directed by the president, will be systematic, consistent and will be based on best practices.
