The Federal Government says the timing for nationwide curfew is now 10 pm to 4 am , according to reports .
The National Coordinator of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID- 19 , Dr Sani Aliyu , made this known .
Aliyu , who spoke at the daily briefing of the task force in Abuja , said the new timing takes effect from tomorrow (Tuesday ).
He said , “Effective from tomorrow , Tuesday , June 2 , 2020 , the easing of the lockdown will be characterised by the following : the nationwide curfew will remain in place but the timing of this will be reduced to 10 pm to 4 am .
“ And just to clarify , the purpose of the curfew is to limit social interactions and , therefore , reduce the risk of transmission of the virus . ”
The Federal Government has asked the aviation sector to begin to develop protocols that will lead to the resumption of domestic flights any time from June 21 , according to reports .
The National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 , Sani Aliyu , stated this during a briefing Abuja .
He said , “ The aviation industry is requested to start developing protocols to allow for domestic flights to resume anytime from the 21 st of June onwards .
“ Airlines must ensure physical distancing by reducing passenger capacity and ensure the provision of sanitisers and personal protective equipment as well as carrying out temperature checks at the point of entry and departure and ensuring that airports are not congested by either travellers or airports staff . ”
The Federal Government has said that schools would remain closed “ for now ”, according to reports .
The Presidential Taskforce on COVID- 19 made this known during its daily briefing .
While giving an update on the PTF announcement, the Personal Assistant on New Media to @ MBuhari, Bashir Ahmad , tweeted, “For now , all the schools are to remain closed , the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 announces the directive .
“ The Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 has requested the Aviation Industry to start developing protocols for domestic flights to possibly resume from June 21 .
“ The interstate travel remains prohibited except for goods and essential travel , the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 announces . ”
The Federal Government has announced the relaxation of the restriction placed on places of worship as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID- 19 .
The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 , Boss Mustapha , announced this during the daily briefing of the panel .
Mustapha , who is also the Secretary to Government of the Federation, said the ban on inter – state travel is still in place.
He said , “ There is a ban on gatherings of more than 20 people outside of a workplace.
“ Relaxation of restriction on places of worship based on guidelines issued by the PTF and protocols agreed by state governments .
“ Managed access to markets and locations of economic activity to limit the risk of transmission ;
“ Ban on inter – state travels except for the movement of agricultural produce , petroleum products , manufactured goods , and essential services;
“ Mandatory use of non – medical face masks in public places ;
“ Mandatory provision of handwashing facilities /sanitisers in all public places . ”
The Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 on Sunday met with the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ) , and discussed the next phase of reopening of sectors in the country.
The PTF Chairman , Boss Mustapha , said one of the recommendations submitted to Buhari was that Nigeria would enter the second phase of the battle against the pandemic.
Mustapha , while briefing journalists after the meeting at the Presidential Villa , said the task force had made recommendations to the President .
According to him , states should now manage the pandemic , with coordination by the Federal Government.
Mustapha , while responding to a question on states reopening worship centres , said the issue was discussed at the meeting .
He said , “ That is part of what we have considered in its totality . We await Mr President ’ s decision on that . Once I receive his approval, going forward , as to certain recommendations that we have put in place, we will see how that happens .
“ I can assure you of one thing : the ownership of the next phase will be the responsibility of the states under national supervision and coordination, because we have gone into community transmission . Where are the communities ? The communities are in the states .
“ So , the ownership of the next phase will be that of the states , the local governments , the traditional institutions, the religious leaders at the different levels of our communities . That is where the problem is . ”
The SGF also said the PTF had reviewed the issues of places of worship , schools , and businesses , saying “ we have made the appropriate recommendations . ”
He added , “ But you know that Mr President is the only one that can take decisions in respect of that . In the framework , the states are sub -nationals ; they have their own responsibilities too . So , it is in the exercise of those responsibilities that they met with religious bodies and agreed on the protocols and guidelines on how to open up . But in the framework of the national response , we are taking that into consideration . ”
When asked if the economy would be opened soon, the PTF chairman said , “ After we receive the approval of Mr President tonight or tomorrow ( Monday ) morning , we will now know which ( other ) segment of the economy is allowed to open . ”
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency has announced a new pump price band of N121 . 50 to N123 . 50 per litre for Premium Motor Spirit , also known as petrol .
The PPPRA, which is an agency of the Federal Government, disclosed this in a circular to fuel marketers which was obtained by news correspondent .
The sharp drop in crude oil prices on the back of the spread of coronavirus saw the landing cost of petrol hitting a record low in March , wiping off subsidy on the product .
The pump price of petrol , which is still being regulated by the Federal Government, was reduced to N125 per litre from N 145 per litre on March 18 , 2020 , effective March 19 .
The PPPRA further announced on March 31 a price band of N 123. 50 to N125 per litre, effective April 1 .
In a bid to curb the high rate of unemployment in the country, the Federal Government has rolled out a scheme which will see unemployed youths in rural areas earning N20 , 000 per month , according to reports .
The youths will be engaged in the clearing of drainages , sweeping markets , road maintenance, traffic control , and cleaning of public infrastructures like health centres and schools .
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo ( SAN ) , said this at a news conference .
Keyamo said the scheme targeted 1 , 000 youths each from the 774 local governments across the country.
The minister said the programme is one of the biggest social intervention schemes to be carried out within a short period of time by any government in the history of Nigeria .
The minister ’ s speech read in part, “ The pilot programme earlier approved by Mr . President was designed to mitigate lack of job opportunities in the rural areas through a short- term engagement of 1 , 000 unemployed persons per local government area for a period of three months.
“ It is a dry season /off- season transient job programme and was originally designed for the rehabilitation /maintenance of public and social infrastructure. Participants were to be paid an allowance of N20 , 000 monthly and were to be recruited largely from the pool of unskilled persons resident in those rural areas .
“ This pilot scheme was approved to be implemented in five local government areas in eight states namely: Adamawa , Borno , Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti , Jigawa , Katsina and Kwara. Beneficiaries are engaged in : drainage digging and clearance , irrigation canals clearance , rural feeder road maintenance , maintenance of the Great Green Wall nurseries and orchards in Borno , Jigawa and Katsina states ; traffic control, street cleaning , cleaning of public infrastructure like health centres , schools and the likes . A total of 40 , 000 direct transient jobs were expected to be created in the eight pilot states . ”
Keyamo said the Special Public Works in the Rural Areas is an employment – intensive technique acquired and adapted by the National Directorate of Employment from one of the capacity -building collaborations with the International Labour Organisation in the late 1980 s to the middle of the 1990 ’ s .
The minister said for the purpose of transparency and accountability in the process , the President has approved the use of select banks to register and collate data of the beneficiaries.
“ The banks will open accounts for all beneficiaries and in the process obtain Bank Verification Numbers for those without accounts.
The Federal Government said the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ), has put the country on an irreversible road to development in the last one year .
It said the country had never witnessed such positive steps in a short time.
The Minister of Information and Culture , Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated these in Abuja at a press conference to mark the first year of Buhari ’ s second term in office .
He said , “ The past one year has been momentous for Nigeria , as the President has taken some actions , mostly bold and highly visionary , that have now put Nigeria on an irreversible road to sustainable development.
“ Never in the history of Nigeria have so many positive steps been taken in so short a time as Mr . President has done in the past one year . ”
The minister listed some of the gains of the administration as power supply, food sufficiency , enhanced security , increased revenue , infrastructural development among others.
Electricity distribution companies have dragged the Federal Government to court to restrain it from further interfering in the corporate business activities of the power firms .
According to the firms , the government , through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and other agencies , had been interfering in the corporate activities of the Discos, a development , they claimed, had hampered their smooth operations .
Senior officials of some of the power firms told our correspondent in Abuja that the Discos resolved to take the matter to the court .
Nigeria ’ s power distribution firms include Abuja , Benin , Eko , Enugu , Ibadan , Ikeja , Jos, Kaduna , Kano and Port Harcourt Discos.
“ We cannot continue to fold our arms and watch how the government through its agencies sustain their undue interference in our corporate business activities, ” an impeccable source with one of the Discos stated .
The official added , “ The NERC , TCN ( Transmission Company of Nigeria ) and even NEC (National Economic Council ) are often interfering in Discos’ activities, and we need to ask the court to call them to order. ”
It was gathered that the Discos were asking the court to restrain the affected agencies from interfering in their businesses unless the boards of the power firms were duly consulted .
Officials of the Discos told our correspondent that the court order had been served on the affected agencies , adding that the power firms were also asking the court to NERC from sending forensic auditors to their firms .
The Ogun State Governor , Dapo Abiodun , has eased lockdown in the state except on weekends .
The Governor stated this while addressing newsmen on the update of COVID- 19 held at his Oke- Mosan office .
Abiodun said henceforth , there would not be restriction of movement between Mondays and Fridays except on Saturdays and Sundays.
He added that the Federal Government’ s order on curfew which begins between 8 :pm and ends 6 : am daily is still in place.
He also said the ban on interstate travelling and religious activities is also still in force .
Abiodun said the state recorded 59 new positive cases, an increase of 32 per cent , bringing the total number of positive cases to date to 242 .
The Governor said , “ This second phase has two major elements of further relaxation of the restrictions and expansion in the number of days.
“ In contrast to the current three days of Monday , Wednesday , and Friday, this new phase opens up all the five working days in the week i . e Monday to Friday, with only Saturday and Sunday as lockdown days .
“ In addition , there will be no time restriction from Monday to Friday, with the exception of the curfew period from 8 . 00 pm or as may be directed by the President .
“ Let no one make a mistake . COVID- 19 is neither over nor the curve of the spread flattened . From all available data and simulations, we are yet to reach our peak . Consequently , the further easing of the lockdown is not a license to believe the worst is over .
“ For the avoidance of doubt, all the existing guidelines to combat COVID- 19 in the state remain in place. In addition , specific guidelines to guide the operations of industries have been issued and must be fully complied with by all industries , as part of preparations for full operations .
“ The curfew from 8 . 00 pm to 6 . 00 am as directed by the President is still in place.
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