BusinessDay 14 Apr 2020

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Buhari extends lockdown in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun by 14 days …directs development of comprehensive policy to help economy adapt to COVID-19 reality Innocent Odoh, Harrison Edeh & James Kwen, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has extended the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal

Capital Territory by another 14 days effective 11: 59pm Monday, directing ministers to develop a comprehensive policy for Nige-

on Monday, Buhari said, “Having carefully considered the briefings and report from the Presidential Task Force and the various options offered, it has become necessary to extend the

current restriction of movement in Lagos and Ogun States as well as the FCT for another 14 days effective from 11:59 pm on MonContinues on page 29

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rian economy functioning with COVID-19. The lockdown is part of measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a nationwide broadcast

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news you can trust I ** tuesDAY 14 april 2020 I vol. 19, no 541

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Private sector says willing to help bridge Nigeria’s COVID-19 testing gap … as community transmission grows ANTHONIA OBOKOH & MICHAEL ANI

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he Nigerian government is racing against time to meet the increasing demand for testing as the coronavirus pandemic spreads to local communities, but private sector players say they are willing and capable to assist in bridging the testing gap arising from the country’s underfunded health sector. “Many of us in the private sector health space have laboratories with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) equipment and we are willing to invest to conduct more tests because unless we test more, we might not know the real picture of the situation,” one private sector health player said. Africa’s biggest economy was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to record a case of the pandemic in late February. Since then, some 288 persons have tested positive for the virus as at 6:00pm on Friday, 51 have been discharged and seven deaths recorded, according to data from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). But Nigeria’s low number of infections is not because the government has particularly been effective with preventing Continues on page 29

Inside Rising insecurity, violent crimes in Lagos as lockdown takes toll P. 2

L-R: Uduak Yemi-Eweka, human resource manager; Jonathan Aminu, general manager, corporate affairs, both of Crown Flour Mills Limited; Kayode Alabi, deputy governor, Kwara State/state chairman, technical committee on Covid-19, and Somnath Mandal, plant manager, Crown Flour Mills, at the presentation of a trailer load of pasta to the Kwara State government as part of Olam’s contribution towards cushioning the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, at the Government House, Ilorin.

Millions of SMEs pushed to the brink amid lockdown ODINAKA ANUDU & JOSEPHINE OKOJIE

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oshua Adekunle happily survived on packets of sweets before the coronavirus-induced lockdown. His entire life was anchored on the daily sales he made under Obalende Bridge in Lagos. All his wares were worth N5,500 and he made daily sales of N500 to N1,000. As little as these were, they took care of him. But since the announcement of total lockdown in Lagos two weeks ago by President Muhammadu Buhari, Adekunle’s life has

As FG offers little hope

seemed hopeless. He has sold all his wares at an auction and spent the money on food. “My biggest concern now is to eat some food,” Adekunle, who sleeps in a dingily-lit one room at Ajah with four other micro business owners, said. “I don’t know what to do after the lockdown because there will be no money to start life again,” he said. A large chunk of Nigeria’s 41.5 million Micro, Small and Medi-

um Enterprises (MSMEs) could go under due to the coronavirusinduced lockdown aimed at halting the spread of the deadly virus. The measure to control the virus is in line with global best practices, but it will lead to shocks, shutdowns and unprecedented job losses in Nigeria as the Federal Government continues to drag on plans to provide palliatives to help the businesses, analysts say.

Millions of workers will not return to their jobs after the pandemic, with unemployment peaking at 23 percent before the pandemic. The World Bank said in a 2015 report that 40-50 million additional jobs were needed between then and 2030 to reduce poverty and boost inclusive growth. MSMEs contribute 50 percent to Nigeria’s GDP and account for 86.3 percent of Continues on page 29


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