- Addresses Nigerians today
Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari thursday told the ECOWAS Commission to come up with an economic recovery plan that will help member-states overcome the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Buhari will also today (Friday) address the nation in commemoration of this year’s Democracy Day.
A statement thursday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president’s message would be broadcast by 7a.m.
A separate statement by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said the president, while speaking during a virtual meeting with the President of ECOWAS Commission, Jean Kassi-Brou, agreed to provide logistic support to enable the sub-region receive and distribute procured and donated medical equipment using Abuja as the hub.
Shehu, who said the president who was speaking at the meeting in his capacity as the ECOWAS COVID-19 Champion, noted that the pandemic was yet to reach its peak in the sub-region and warned against laxity in fighting it.
The president called on member-states to continually sensitise their citizens on preventive measures and expressed appreciation on behalf of ECOWAS member-states for the “swift interventions made to the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and the Africa Centre for Disease Control by the Jack Ma Foundation.”
Buhari commended the support given to the sub-region so far from “development partners such as the European Union, African Development Bank, France and Germany for their financial contributions in the procurement of medical supplies.”
He urged member-states to work closely with one another in order to overcome the pandemic.
The president of ECOWAS Commission, on his part, advocated additional strategies to assist the sub-region in fighting the health and economic impact of COVID-19.
“According to Kassi-Brou, these include, the need for advocacy at continental and global levels, particularly with the G20, World Bank, United Nations and the African Development Bank among others, for support to negate the health and economic damage to the ECOWAS sub-region; and mass awareness campaign to achieve behavioural change among the citizens of the community with effective customs, security and health protocols put in place throughout the sub-region.
“The president of the ECOWAS Commission used the occasion to condole with the government and people of Nigeria on the latest Boko Haram attack on Gubio Local Government in Borno,” the statement added.
