Coronavirus: Secondus cautions Buhari against policies that could worsen Nigeria's economy
- The national chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, has urged President Buhari to ensure his policies on COVID-19 do not worsen the economy
- Secondus spoke against the lockdown in some parts of the country, saying partial movement restriction should be adopted instead
- The PDP chieftain also called for the COVID-19 testing method, saying more testing facilities should given to states
Prince Uche Secondus, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari against adopting policies that could worsen Nigeria's economy in the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to ThisDay, Secondus urged the president to consider the health of the economy and the plight of the vulnerable in his decisions regarding how to tackle the pandemic.
Legit.ng gathers that the PDP chairman advised the federal government is to be cautious to ensure that it does not create hunger in its bid to prevent COVID-19.
Source: UGC
Secondus spoke against the lockdown of the Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), saying it is damaging the economy.
His words: “The Nigerian economy – apart from on oil, is majorly dependent on the entrepreneurial skills of the artisans, the traders, the bricklayers, the market men and women and other small and medium scale business people.
“The continued stay at home of these set of people does not help the already imperiled economy, where our major foreign income earning measure has fallen to the worst state in the last 20 years. We should not use policies that could worsen the economy. Crime and criminality is on the rise now in the country."
Secondus asked the federal government to also take into cognisance the plight of pensioners and the vulnerable in the country.
He also harped on the need to distribute palliative to the vulnerable to cushion the effect of the pandemic, just as he called for the inclusion of the state governments in the chain of distribution.
Secondus urged the federal government to heed the advice of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and ensure a partial restriction of movement and allow people to engage in their daily chores.
“The economy is gradually being heated and this is dangerous for all. This is the time to be wise. Everything is not jackboot politics,” he added.
The PDP chairman also advised that the testing method for COVID-19 should be decentralised by giving more facilities to the states rather than concentrating the testing on the federal government and its agencies like the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
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Meanwhile, President Buhari has eased the lockdown measures imposed on Lagos, Abuja and the FCT beginning from Saturday, May 2.
The president made this known in a nationwide broadcast to Nigerians on Monday, 27 after the end of a one-month lockdown since Monday, March 30.
President Buhari stated that the decision is in line with the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, various federal government committees and the Nigeria Governors Forum.
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Update: Nigerian states without coronavirus as country hits over 1k cases | Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng