Nigeria can’t accord another lockdown — Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria’s economy is too fragile for fresh COVID-19 lockdown.

The President, therefore, urged Nigerians to obey all protocols recommended by health authorities to curtail the spread of the lethal coronavirus.

Buhari, who stated this on Thursday via his verified Twitter handle, said compliance with COVID-19 protocols by all Nigerians is crucial to avert a second wave of the pandemic in the country.

“Looking at the trends in other countries, we must do all we can to avert a second wave of COVID-19 in Nigeria,” Buhari said.

“We must make sure that our cases, which have gone down, do not rise again. Our economy is too fragile to bear another round of lockdown,” he said.

Buhari had in March imposed a total lockdown on parts of the country including Lagos, Abuja and Ogun. The lockdown lasted for over five weeks and had a tremendous effect on the country’s economical activities with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry putting the loss at about N3bn in the period under review.

The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 had at its many briefings frowned on the disregard for COVID-19 protocol by Nigerians while warning against a second wave of the virus in the country.

The task force had also urged citizens to obey social distancing rules, use masks, and regularly wash hands, amongst others.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, the country has recorded over 62,000 infections including over 1,100 fatalities.