President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate release of N5 billion special intervention fund to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to equip and expand their facilities and laboratories.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made the disclosure in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, saying the approval would aid in mitigating the challenges being experienced by the Centre in the current fight against Coronavirus in the country.
He also disclosed that the President has approved NCDC’s request for an aircraft from the Presidential Air Fleet for emergency situations.
The statement said that the president has also approved the evacuation of three critical members of the NCDC team stuck in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, where they went for a training organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“With regard to the request by the government of Lagos State for financial support to combat and contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Lagos and Nigeria, the President has already approved the sum of N10 billion which was released within two days of the request,” Shehu disclosed.
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Shehu further explained that the measures are in addition to the ones earlier approved and announced by the Presidential Task Force (PTF), including the closure of land borders to human traffic for four weeks and the conversion of all Hajj transit camps to COVID-19 isolation centres.
Shehu stated that President Buhari had also directed for the escalation of the nation’s capacity for testing and detection with the acquisition of testing kits and establishment of additional test centres and acquisition of Personnel Protection Equipment.
He said that the president had also ordered for the mobilisation of experts and trained staff serving, while recalling some of those retired, to combat the deadly virus.
Furthermore, Shehu said the President was keeping a close eye on international developments on the spread of COVID-19 and “will intensify or introduce new measures if they become necessary to protect Nigerians.”
