COVID-19: Governors may assess legality of Buhari’s power on lockdown

President Muhammadu Buhari

The legality or otherwise of the  lockdown imposed on Lagos state and Abuja by President Muhammadu Buhari as one of the measures to curb  the spread of coronavirus was one of the salient issues  discussed during  the teleconference  session of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum last Thursday.

President Buhari had, In a broadcast on Sunday, March 29,   imposed a Lockdown on  Lagos state and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, effective from 11 pm of March 30 2020 . He backed the order up with the signing of the  COVID-19 Regulations, 2020 into law the following day.  

‘’In Nigeria’s fight against COVID-19, there is no such thing as an overreaction or under-reaction. It is all about the right reaction by the right agencies and trained experts, ‘’ the President had declared in the broadcast.

Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State also  gave the hint that the teleconference touched on the legality of the presidential order as well as other salient issues. The communique that ensued however did not go into much details. 

Among areas addressed was the commitment of the  36 state governors  to leading the effort through state focal persons in charge of social protection to ensure that palliatives, including food and cash transfers, reach the most vulnerable population in all states.”

“Following a briefing from the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning on fiscal measures taken by the Federal Government to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the Forum called for urgent fiscal measures to safeguard the liquidity of state governments’’.

“Members also received briefing from the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, on stimulus incentives from the Federal Government to support vulnerable households across states cope with the expected loss of income and livelihoods in the coming months’’, it  said.

“This include the acceleration of an arrangement to suspend all state deductions and restructure all debt service payments on Federal Government and Central Bank of Nigeria-owned debts’’, it added.