Buhari directs ministers, PEAC, ESC to fashion economic blueprint for COVID-19

As a way of preventing the collapse of the Nigerian economy following the global economic meltdown occasioned by the coronavirus (COVID-19), President Mumammadu Buhari has directed ten ministers and two committees to come with strategies to keep the economy functioning for the duration of the COVID-19.

The President disclosed this in a broadcast to the nation on Monday night. Noting that the COVID-19 had changed the world particularly in terms of how individuals interact with one another and conduct business, he said:

“To ensure our economy adapts to this new reality, I am directing the Ministers of Industry, Trade and Investment, Communication and Digital Economy, Science and Technology, Transportation, Aviation, Interior, Health, Works and Housing, Labour and Employment and Education to jointly develop a comprehensive policy for a “Nigerian economy functioning with COVID-19”.

He said the ministers will be supported by the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and Economic Sustainability Committee in executing this mandate. The President also directed the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the National Security Adviser, the Vice-Chairman, National Food Security Council and the Chairman, Presidential Fertiliser Initiative to work with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to ensure the impact of this pandemic on our 2020 farming season is minimized.