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FG To Extends Lockdown In FCT, Lagos Ogun states For 7days

Published

3 years ago

April 11, 2020

FG To Extends Lockdown In FCT, Lagos Ogun states For 7days

Joel Ajayi

There is an indication that the Federal Government may announce some days extension for the lockdown for Lagos, Abuja and Ogun to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country.

It will be recalled that, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a 14-day lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the federal capital territory to contain the spread of coronavirus.

In a statement on Saturday, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, quoted Buhari as saying the lockdown is a major attempt to tackle the spread of COVID-19.

“We realize that today, there will be sons and daughters unable to visit their parents, and elders that are isolated from young ones. And there will be those who live day-to-day, eating as they earn, who face real and present suffering,” he said.

“No elected government could ask more of the citizens of the country that elected them than today we ask of you. But we must ask you – once more – to observe restrictions on movement where they are in place, and follow the instructions of our scientists and medical advisers: stay home, wash your hands, save lives.

“The freedoms we ask you to willingly forsake today will only last as long as our scientific advisers declare they are necessary. But they are essential – world over – to halt and defeat the spread of this virus.

“Instead, the defeat of the virus in our country will be in our hands, alone. We cannot wait for others. We can only depend on ourselves now. And so we must – and we will – end this outbreak ourselves as Nigerians, together”.

Also, on Saturday in Abuja, the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha said stay at home may extend for some days.

According to Bos Mustapha, President Buhari will direct the announcement of the extension as only the President has the power to do. He revealed that the extension may not exceed 7 days. ” The President will be briefed today and if there is any need for the extension Mr President will not hesitate to give the announcement later today.

“In his (Buhari) address to the nation, he did say 14 days in the first instance. So, it is open. It is based on what has happened within these 14 days. Have the objectives been met, have they satisfied the objectives, has it gone in the direction we wanted it to go?

“If that has been achieved, he will look at all the information available to him as the President of Nigeria and I can assure you that he will make a decision that is in the best interest of the people of Nigeria.”

“We will have the responsibility of reporting back to Mr President who did say the declaration was on the advice of the minister of health and experts that informed his decision in signing the Quarantine Declaration 2020.

“At the end of our evaluation, our advice and recommendation will be presented to Mr President and at that point, he and he alone can take that decision whether the lockdown would either be extended or it will stop at the expiration of 14 days.”

Lagosians, FCT Resident are already complaining about the 14 days lockdown, the hunger virus has set in and boredom also killing many people silently. People are also defying the order of lockdown as many people in Abuja and Lagos trooped outside to go to their various place of work.

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Nigerians Call For More Women In Governance, Say It Will Reduce Corruption

Published

4 days ago

February 2, 2023

The Gleamer

Exasperated by rising corruption in Africa’s most populous country, stakeholders in the fight against corruption in Nigeria have identified adequate inclusion of women in governance as an antidote to public sector corruption while lamenting the government’s effort in implementing the revised National Gender Policy (NGP).

The call for the inclusion of more women in governance had been necessitated by the low representation of women in Nigeria’s governance structures.

Human rights lawyer Mary Musa led the call during PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, an anti-corruption radio programme produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja.

Speaking during the programme, Musa stated that Nigeria would be heading in the better direction if more women are deliberately handed opportunities in political leadership and public service as they embody the values, character and integrity, which is needed in building a corrupt-free nation.

She noted that Nigerian women are prudent and have been equipped to instill prudence, character and integrity in the mind of their children and can replicate these virtues in leadership positions.

“If we (government) put more women who are prudent in the government spaces, political spaces, corruption will reduce drastically because they are coming with values, character and integrity. We are not saying take any woman because she is a woman, we are saying take women who know what it means to be in political offices.

“If we select those women knowing they are influencers in their spaces doing fantastic and credible jobs with excellent value systems, Nigeria is headed for a better place.

“We have credible women, but they face barriers like sexual harassment at workplaces. Even in politics, we have a lot of women going into politics, but there are god-fathers who want to take advantage of the young women coming into politics. It’s beyond being credible and competent. It’s about creating an enabling environment for the woman to thrive,” Musa stressed.

On the government’s lacklustre approach on implementing the revised National Gender Policy, she revealed that the most effective tool in persuading the Federal Government to implement the policy remains sensitization, advocacy and peaceful protest.

Musa also regretted that implementation of the National Gender Policy is stifled by a lack of political will and urged the government to enforce the policy and place punitive measures on public offices that fail to align with the provisions of the revised NGP.

On her part, Communications Manager Mujidat Agbabiaka backed Nigerian women to do well if given more opportunities in leadership, emphasizing that women have what it takes to participate in leadership and make the country better. She added that women must be encouraged and empowered to take charge of administration because of their discipline and integrity.

Agbabiaka said, “We’ve seen women out there doing well in their leadership capacity and their homes are not broken. They still perform their maternal roles. They still take care of their families, their husband and children, immediate and extended families.”

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, she advised women not to sell their votes to politicians, urging them rather to study the manifestos of political parties and candidates in order to make informed decisions.

“We know the roles the politicians play in impoverishing the women further by giving them seasoning cubes and wrappers as if those things matter in politics and electioneering. We have said that these things are wrong and women should desist from accepting gifts but rather look inward into candidates and see what they are offering based on their manifestos.”

Some Nigerians who phoned into the programme from Abuja, the nation’s capital, alluded that Nigeria would be better governed and less corrupt if women were given more leadership opportunities owing to their antecedents from the home front.

PRIMORG and the Women’s Rights Advancement & Protection Alternative (WRAPA) are collaborating to promote the revised gender policy of the Federal Government for more opportunities for women in Nigeria.

Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation

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