New York Governor verses Trump on a laid down Authority

America Has No King – New York Governor blasts Trump for saying that he has Total Authority

America has no king, but a constitution, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared Tuesday as he debunked President Trump’s statement that he has “total authority” to determine when the coronavirus stricken states can open for business.

Cuomo on NBC’s Today Show and CNN said Trump was flat-out wrong when he said he can overrule state leaders in determining when to reopen businesses and relax social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus outbreak.

“I don’t know what the president is talking about, frankly,” Mr. Cuomo said on NBC’s “Today” show.

“We don’t have a king in the United States, we have a constitution”, he told CNN.

In both interviews, Cuomo underscored the power of the states over health, welfare and quarantine.

He also reminded Mr. Trump about the political history of the United States.

“The colonies created the United States, not the other way round”, Cuomo said.

He said if America wanted to have a king, the constitution would have made George Washington a king.

“The Federal Government does not have absolute power. It is the exact opposite of what President Trump said”, Cuomo told CNN.

“States have power by the 10th Amendment, and the president’s just wrong on that point,” he told NBC.

Mr. Trump on Monday said a president’s authority is “total” and that he had the “ultimate authority” on when to start reopening things once the coronavirus crisis eases.

“If we don’t reopen correctly, you will see those virus numbers go up again, and more people will die,” said Cuomo.

Although New York has till date over 10,000 deaths, he has reported relatively positive trends in recent days in terms of hospitalisations and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions.

Mr. Cuomo, who has mixed flattery, tough love, and aggressive berating in his relationship with Mr. Trump during the pandemic, said he doesn’t have a time frame for when things might start to look like normal again.

“I don’t, and I think if anybody tells you they do, they don’t understand the issue ahead of us,” he said.

“This is all uncharted territory.”

Asked by CNN what he would do if Trump orders him to re-open New York, Cuomo said he would disobey the order.

Mr. Cuomo and six other northeastern governors banded together on Monday to announce that they will try to coordinate strategy for when to reopen schools and businesses.

The governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced a similar pact.

What a World! A woman delivers stone after 60years

In a bizarre turn of events straight out of Mr. Ripley’s personal files, comes this true story of a 92-year-old woman who delivered a child (albeit not a live baby) she had been carrying for over half a century! (Long pregnancies are one thing, but THAT is ridiculous!)

Huang Yijun, aged 92, is from southern China and she recently made news after delivering a baby known as a lithopedion, aka ‘Stone Baby’.

Huang Yijun told the press she didn’t have the money to have her fetus removed after doctors told her it had died inside her in 1948.

So she simply did nothing at all about it.

Lithopedion is a very rare medical phenomenon, which occurs when a pregnancy fails and the fetus actually calcifies while still in the mother’s body.

Medically speaking, what often happens is the implanted fetus gets to an advanced stage before it dies. Too large to be absorbed by the body, the remains of the child or its surrounding amniotic sac slowly calcify, turning to stone as a way to protect the woman’s body from infection from the decomposing tissue.

If no complications occur, believe it or not, the mother can basically just go on with her life.

According to the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, only 290 cases of lithopedions have ever been documented by medical literature.

The facts about Anambra State covid 19 index case

The Facts about Anambra's Covid-19 Index Case.

In a special Media Briefing held earlier today Monday, 13th April, 2020, the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Vincent Ugochukwu Okpala gives a factual account of Anambra's Covid-19 Index Case, how it was detected and how the state has managed the situation so far. Here are the excerpts from the Briefing...

Interviewer: Honourable Commissioner Please can you update Ndi-Anambra on the current status of preparations against the Spread of Covid-19 in Anambra State.

Commissioner of Health: In respect of preparedness of the State against the spread of Corona Virus in the State, the Covid-19 Action Team which His Excellency Governor Willie Mmaduaburochukwu Obiano chairs has done a lot to make sure this virus does not get into the state up until last friday. Now the activities that the state embarked upon started since January 29th 2020. We did a lot of work in infection prevention and CONTROL. We did a lot of work on surveillance, we did a lot of work in awareness campaign and we have been successful. His Excellency went an extra step to start putting in place strategies that will  help in disease containment. These strategies were; the lockdown that we experienced, the school closures, the moves made by leaders of religious organizations, the advisory that discouraged handshaking and other forms of contact salutation. All those things that were put in place were to make sure that the virus doesn't come into Anambra State and to add to that the state went further to get ready for case management in case we have the bug come into the state and established Protective Care Centers not Isolation Centers. We have the center at Mbaukwu/Umuawulu that has 240 beds with the capacity to go up to 1000 beds. We have a center at Onitsha that has 58 beds with a world class ICU. We have centers at Ekwulobia, Umueri, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital and Amaku. So this was where we were till friday last week.

Interviewer: NCDC announced on Friday that there is now an index case in Anambra State. Can you update us on the status of that case? What happened to him? Where is he? What kind of care is the State providing for the index case?


Commissioner: It is true that on Friday last week, NCDC sent a report that we have an index case in Anambra State. We were notified about that index case, we went through various rigors to identify that case. As a matter of fact, that notification came to us ‪around 7-8pm‬ and the team swung into action to identify the case. We knew where that case was as at the time of the announcement. We called the facility the patient was supposed to be in, I personally spoke with  the doctors that were on call. Usually when a sample is taken from a patient by us and taken to the test center, we follow up the case up until the result comes out. So we followed this particular case, I called to find out how the patient was doing even before the result came out. I spoke to the doctor that was supposed to be on call in this facility and I was surprised when he said that he didn't know much about the patient. Usually there should be a hand out because when you sign out there should be a hand out to the next physician coming in. So I wasn't happy with the response I got but I took the name of the doctor he said that knew much about this case and he was not in the facility, so I called him until I found out that the patient had actually escaped from the facility and this doctor on duty did not know that the patient was not in the facility at that point in time. So we Started making calls and communicated his Excellency. Our goal at that point was to find out where the patient was. I spoke with the management of the hospital and there was no help coming from anybody. So we had to employ every available means to identify where this individual was at that point in time and it took us up ‪until 3.21am‬ in the morning. I was knocking at doors, entering facilities until with the aid of technology we were finally able to find out where he was.

Interviewer: Where is the Index Case Now?


Commissioner: Right now the index case is in one of our Protective Care Centers and now our centers have been prepared to take care of these cases as they arise. We have trained personnels. As of last week we have over 50 master trainers, Anambra citizens, health care personnel trained to take care of covid-19 patients.

Interviewer: Was that in collaboration with World Health Organization?

Commissioner: Part of it was actually joint partnership with world Health Organization and the European Union and these individuals were trained at the level of Master Trainers so they can actually cascade the training to others. The facility that this individual currently is in has ; ventilators, cardiac monitors, EKD machines, Central oxygen.

Interviewer: So you are saying that this patient is in good care.

Commissioner: Yes, I've been interacting with the patient on daily basis since we picked him up.

Interviewer: When was the last contact you had with this patient.

Commissioner: The last physical contact with the patient was last night (Easter Sunday), I was with the patient for 2hours.

Interviewer: So the rumours flying around Social Media that the patient has disappeared and in his house, so there is no truth in them.

Commissioner:   That's a figment of people's imagination, there is no truth to that.

Interviewer: The patient granted  some newspapers interview, he said the State Government wanted to kill him and since he was brought into the Protective Care Center ,no treatment was given to him and he was also starving.

Commissioner: One of the reasons we might be having this problem is that His Excellency wants all patients to be taken  care of in the most humane way and that is why we have chosen to call our facilities Protective Care Centers opposed to the medically recommended name "Isolation Centers". We don't want our patients to be stigmatized, we don't want our care centers to be stigmatized too, we are solidly against that because this condition is treatable. The survival rate is very high. Globally the case mortality rate for this disease is at 6.1% and in Nigeria it is at 3% so looking at the cases around the country  Lagos, people are surviving. So we should not stigmatize each other when it comes. As part of that humane treatment, we left the patient with his telephone and access to his family and friends so he could feel comfortable. He wants to interact but it shouldn't be a source of nuisance and distraction to the management team because if he does, certain privileges would be withdrawn, but right now we are not going to do that. From the time we had his result to the time we engaged the team, it took around 9 hours. I personally led the team that took him to the Protective Care Center. I was in the center ‪till 7- 7.39 am‬.  He said he wanted to eat and I asked him what he wanted and he said he's diabetic he  wanted porridge plantain. And  I asked what kind of protein do you want in it, he said fish. I was there when the food arrived at 7.30 in the morning. I told him whatever you want, let us know.

Interviewer: What about contact-tracing? How far have you gone with that?

Commissioner: From the time we picked up the index case, the thing that came to our mind was Case Management: treat this patient in  a standard manner and then go after contacts for the containment of the disease. We have since then made contact with 29 potential contacts and these contacts are from the facilities that the patient visited, family and friends, business associates and that job continues. As of yesterday we have 29 contacts we have contacted and we have also decontaminated those facilities in question based on NCDC and WHO guidelines. The facilities that the patient had access to.

Interviewer: Is there a testing center in the state?

When it comes to testing, when we get a call for a test to be conducted as a result of symptoms or we have a health care provider call in on behalf of a person that wants to be tested, you call the Anambra State Public Health emergency operation center numbers that have been made available and not NCDC. If you call NCDC they will still refer you to us, we get an average of 150 calls per day. When we get that call we engage you and ask a few questions. We have a case description guideline. We didn't develop that, NCDC and WHO did but every country has now designed theirs to fit their system.

We go through case description, for someone showing symptoms there are a set of questions ... Have you been exposed to someone that has been diagnosed for Covid-19, not a suspected case or are you coming from a place that has wide transmission? The team goes there, interacts with the individual. If he meets what we term 'case definition' then we take samples of such individual to a test center. But if they don't meet the case definition, we explain to them they didn't meet the case definition. The reason is this; we don't test at will, if we collect those samples and take them to a test center, that center could be at Irua in Edo State, it could be in Ebonyi State. If we fill out the form they will still ask more questions to ensure the case meets "case description." So that's why at our level we do a lot of 'checking' to ensure we are not going on a wild goose chase.

When they run a test, we get the result between 24-48 hours. It doesn't matter if the test Happened in Edo State or Lagos. Once  we hand over that sample to the test center we loose control. If the result comes out negative, NCDC  sends the form and ticket to the negative section. If it comes out Positive they announce it themselves, we don't control if they will announce it or not and that is why things are centrally coordinated. So that is it about testing. Yes, we have been working hard to get a test center in Anambra State. It will save us the 6hrs going and coming from Irua. The NCDC regulates establishment of test centers and we have gone far with them but I want Ndi-Anambra to know that right now we don't have a problem with testing. Anybody that qualifies to be tested have been tested and will be tested and as at that index case we had 13 tests that returned Negative the 14th case was the one that returned Positive.

The new testing method that will come into the state is the use of the Gene Machine to do tests. This is a machine used for tuberculosis patients. We have about 10 testing centers for that. The manufacturers of these machines have developed a cartridge that could also aid in testing for Covid-19 and the result comes out in 15 Minutes. We are in contact with them and have placed an order for it like 3 or 4weeks ago and we were supposed to get it in the next one week but they came back to us saying that America and UK have to be satisfied before they can start shipping to other places. So they promised to get it down by ending of April and beginning of May.

My advice to Ndi Anambra is this;
let me break it down to the barest level. The virus in question does not have wings and doesn't move about. It is people that move the virus. So, if we stay still, the virus stays still and dies but if we move, we move the virus.

Now that we have an index case it has become paramount that we stop moving about. That is the only way we can battle this and it's good a thing people are beginning to understand this. If we were at 60% we have to move compliance rate to 99.9 %. Other countries are regretting not strictly adhering to directives and in the US, they have over 20,000 deaths. We don't want that to happen to us here in Anambra. We should stick to what  science has proven to work. We need to observe all the measures put in place and stop moving the bug around. If we do that we will win this battle.

Reactions of Nigerians on another two weeks lockdown

President Buhari's two weeks lockdown extension in Ogun, Lagos and Abuja

Nigerians are reacting to President Buhari's decision for a two weeks extension on the lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states due to the Coronavirus pandemic. While some are in support of the extension, others are against it. They took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

Do you eat fufu(Akpu) read more

Are You Still taking Fufu (Akpu)? Read To See What It Does To Your Body

Are You Still Taking fufu (Akpu)? Read To See What It Does To Your Body

Fufu is a staple food of West and Central Africa. It is a thick paste usually made by boiling starchy root crops and pounding with a mortar and pestle until the desired texture is attained. Fufu tastes wonderful - especially with groundnut soup, dried fish and assorted vegetables - but it takes many hours of aborious work to prepare.

First, you make your soup.

Then you cook the plantain or yam and cassava; and then you pound and pound and pound until the' mix' is soft enough to swallow without first chewing it. A lot of Ghanaians think it is the most tedious job on earth - making fufu. Despite the tedious work involved in its preparation, many can't live a day without fufu. Does it have any nutritional value? Let's find out.

The nutritional aspect of the diet depends on the soup and meat or fish that it is served with. Cassava is rich in carbohydrates which supply the body with energy. Plantain is extremely low in fat, high in fibre and starch.

It is very low in cholesterol. It is very rich in potassium, and it is commonly prescribed by doctors for people who have low level of potassium in their blood. Vegetables used in the soup preparation provide important minerals and vitamins in human nutrition. Vegetables are also low in fat and calorie In addition to proteins, vitamins, and minerals, fish oils contain polyunsaturated fats. These are essential for healthy skin, and the normal operation of the liver and kidneys. They also reduce the cholesterol level in blood, decreasing the chances of heart disease.

Do you love FUFU, please leave your Comments.....

New 23 COVİD 19 Cases in Nigeria

Twenty new cases of #COVID19 have been reported as follows:‬

‪13 in Lagos‬
‪2 in Edo‬
‪2 in Kano‬
‪2 in Ogun‬
‪1 in Ondo‬

‪As at 09:50 pm 13th April there are 343 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. 91 have been discharged with 10 deaths‬

‪No of states with confirmed cases:19

As at 09:50 pm 13th April, there are‬
‪ ‬
‪343 confirmed cases‬
‪91 discharged‬
‪10 deaths‬

‪Lagos- 189
‪FCT- 56‬
‪Osun- 20‬
‪Edo- 14‬
‪Oyo- 11‬
‪Ogun- 9‬
‪Bauchi- 6‬
‪Kaduna- 6‬
‪Akwa Ibom- 5‬
‪Katsina-5‬
‪Kwara- 4‬
‪Ondo- 3‬
‪Delta- 3‬
‪Kano- 3‬
‪Enugu- 2‬
‪Ekiti- 2‬
‪Rivers-2‬
‪Benue- 1‬
‪Niger- 1‬
‪Anambra- 1

The best under 23 Football players this season under covid 19

Best Under 23 football player this season. Rashford ranks 8th... See list.

Football have been wondering which set of players would take over the mantle from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Well, look no further because here are 10 players that look set to take the world by storm that's if they aren't already.

Kylian Mbappe ranks 1st on the list and I honestly don't think that would surprise anyone. The PSG star has been in prolific form this season and has been the best player in the French league.

Second on the list is the man who every club wants, Jadon Sancho. He would have gotten over 20 plus goals and assists this season if not for the current situation on ground. Trent Alexander Arnold comes in 3rd position and I'm not surprised. 

He has over 10 league assists this season only behind De Bruyne. He has given the most assist of any player in the league for the past two years and he's also an accurate free kick taker. Liverpool have a future legend in their hands.

Erling Haaland who tore up the Champions league and the Austrian league and is now tearing up the German league is 4th on the list. Haaland has scored 12 goals in 12 games since joining Dortmund in January. Haaland totals 39 goals this season in just 29 games. Beast.

Martin Odegaard comes in 5th after guiding Real Sociedad to European places, Frankie De Jong is in 6th place, Lautaro Martinez who has been linked with a move to Barca is 7th, Manchester United top scorer Marcus Rashford is 8th, his city rival Gabriel Jesus is 9th and Liverpool's Joe Gomez rounds up the top 10.

The vulnerable girl in Lagos.

Woman Raises Alarm Over Vulnerable Girl Being Used By Area Boys In Festac. Photo - Crime - Nairaland

The plight of a girl named Victoria who is reportedly being used and manipulated by area boys in Festac, Lagos - has been brought to the attention of the public by a concerned citizen.

According to the woman who saw the vulnerable girl naked in Festac market, the area boys/touts in the market sleep with Victoria constantly while on drugs.

It was gathered that the girl was taken home by a man and brought back to the streets after three days. The concerned citizen who wants the girl to be helped by the appropriate authorities, made the revelation to Rita Egwu who shared it online.

Read below.

I saw this girl naked in the afternoon period where I went to visit my mother in laws tenant at Festac 23road market popularly called ( Festac Market).

I couldn't hold myself Oooo. The moment I dropped my mother inlaw, I drove back to the place but couldn't find her. Because of how dangerous that side could be at night I have to called my junior Bro who is a Soldier to escourt me to the market place..

So I can penetrate inside the market place. So I finally saw her and my Kid Bro took her this pix at around 8:pm. What I found out about her is that her name is Victoria and that she from Enugu State.

My worry is that she looks pregnant as a result of those area boys around the market place sleeping with her on drugs. A woman even pointed at a guy that the guy took her home and brought her back after three days.

ADDRESS BY H.E. MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE EXTENSION OF COVID- 19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN AT THE STATE HOUSE, ABUJA MONDAY, 13TH APRIL, 2020

1.   Fellow Nigerians

2.   In my address on Sunday, 29th March, 2020, I asked the residents of Lagos and Ogun States as well as the Federal Capital Territory to stay at home for an initial period of fourteen days starting from Monday, 30th March 2020.

3.   Many State Governments also introduced similar restrictions.

4.   As your democratically elected leaders, we made this very difficult decision knowing fully well it will severely disrupt your livelihoods and bring undue hardship to you, your loved ones and your communities.

5.   However, such sacrifices are needed to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our country. They were necessary to save lives.

6.   Our objective was, and still remains, to contain the spread of the Coronavirus and to provide space, time and resources for an aggressive and collective action.

7.   The level of compliance to the COVID-19 guidelines issued has been generally good across the country. I wish to thank you all most sincerely for the great sacrifice you are making for each other at this critical time.

8.   I will take this opportunity to recognise the massive support from our traditional rulers, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) during this pandemic.

9.   I also acknowledge the support and contributions received from public spirited individuals, the business community and our international partners and friends.

10.       I must also thank the media houses, celebrities and other public figures for the great work they are doing in sensitizing our citizens on hygienic practices, social distancing and issues associated with social gatherings.


11.       As a result of the overwhelming support and cooperation received, we were able to achieve a lot during these 14 days of initial lockdown.

12.       We implemented comprehensive public health measures that intensified our case identification, testing, isolation and contact tracing capabilities.



13.       To date, we have identified 92% of all identified contacts while doubling the number of testing laboratories in the country and raising our testing capacity to 1,500 tests per day.



14.       We also trained over 7,000 Healthcare workers on infection prevention and control while deploying NCDC teams to 19 states of the federation.



15.       Lagos and Abuja today have the capacity to admit some 1,000 patients each across several treatment centres.



16.       Many State Governments have also made provisions for isolation wards and treatment centres. We will also build similar centers near our airports and land borders.



17.       Using our resources and those provided through donations, we will adequately equip and man these centres in the coming weeks. Already, health care workers across all the treatment centers have been provided with the personal protective equipment that they need to safely carry out the care they provide.



18.       Our hope and prayers are that we do not have to use all these centres. But we will be ready for all eventualities.



19.       At this point, I must recognise the incredible work being done by our healthcare workers and volunteers across the country especially in frontline areas of Lagos and Ogun States as well as the Federal Capital Territory.



20.       You are our heroes and as a nation, we will forever remain grateful for your sacrifice during this very difficult time. More measures to motivate our health care workers are being introduced which we will announce in the coming weeks.



21.       As a nation, we are on the right track to win the fight against COVID-19.



22.       However, I remain concerned about the increase in number of confirmed cases and deaths being reported across the world and in Nigeria specifically.



23.       On 30th March 2020, when we started our lockdown in conforming with medical and scientific advice, the total number of confirmed cases across the world was over 780,000.



24.       Yesterday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases globally was over one million, eight hundred and fifty thousand. This figure is more than double in two weeks!



25.       In the last fourteen days alone, over 70,000 people have died due to this disease.



26.       In the same period, we have seen the health system of even the most developed nations being overwhelmed by this virus.



27.       Here in Nigeria, we had 131 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 12 States on 30th March 2020. We had two fatalities then.



28.       This morning, Nigeria had 323 confirmed cases in twenty States. Unfortunately we now have ten fatalities. Lagos State remains the center and accounts for 54% of the confirmed cases in Nigeria. When combined with the FCT, the two locations represent over 71% of the confirmed cases in Nigeria.



29.       Most of our efforts will continue to focus in these two locations.



30.       Majority of the confirmed cases in Lagos and the FCT are individuals with recent international travel history or those that came into contact with returnees from international trips.



31.       By closing our airports and land borders and putting strict conditions for seaport activities, we have reduced the impact of external factors on our country. However, the increase in the number of States with positive cases is alarming.



32.       The National Centre for Disease Control has informed me that, a large proportion of new infections are now occurring in our communities, through person-to-person contacts. So we must pay attention to the danger of close contact between person to person.



33.       At this point, I will remind all Nigerians to continue to take responsibility for the recommended measures to prevent transmission, including maintaining physical distancing, good personal hygiene and staying at home.



34.       In addition, I have signed the Quarantine Order in this regard and additional regulations to provide clarity in respect of the control measures for the COVID-19 pandemic which will be released soon.





35.       The public health response to COVID-19 is built on our ability to detect, test and admit cases as well as trace all their contacts. While I note some appreciable progress, we can achieve a lot more.



36.       Today, the cessation of movement, physical distancing measures and the prohibition of mass gatherings remain the most efficient and effective way of reducing the transmission of the virus. By sustaining these measures, combined with extensive testing and contact tracing, we can take control and limit the spread of the disease.



37.       Our approach to the virus remains in 2 steps - First, to protect the lives of our fellow Nigerians and residents living here and second, to preserve the livelihoods of workers and business owners.



38.       With this in mind and 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 Monday, 13th of April, 2020. I am therefore once again asking you all to work with Government in this fight.


39.       This is not a joke. It is a matter of life and death. Mosques in Makkah and Madina have been closed. The Pope celebrated Mass on an empty St. Peter’s Square. The famous Notre Dame cathedral in Paris held Easter Mass with less than 10 people. India, Italy and France are in complete lockdown. Other countries are in the process of following suit. We can not be lax.

40.       The previously issued guidelines on exempted services shall remain.

41.       This is a difficult decision to take, but I am convinced that this is the right decision. The evidence is clear.

42.       The repercussions of any premature end to the lockdown action are unimaginable.

43.       We must not lose the gains achieved thus far. We must not allow a rapid increase in community transmission. We must endure a little longer.


44.       I will therefore take this opportunity to urge you all to notify the relevant authorities if you or your loved ones develop any symptoms. I will also ask our health care professionals to redouble their efforts to identify all suspected cases, bring them into care and prevent transmission to others.



45.       No country can afford the full impact of a sustained restriction of movement on its economy. I am fully aware of the great difficulties experienced especially by those who earn a daily wage such as traders, dayworkers, artisans and manual workers.



46.       For this group, their sustenance depends on their ability to go out. Their livelihoods depend on them mingling with others and about seeking work. But despite these realities we must not change the restrictions.



47.       In the past two weeks, we announced palliative measures such as food distribution, cash transfers and loans repayment waivers to ease the pains of our restrictive policies during this difficult time. These palliatives will be sustained.



48.       I have also directed that the current social register be expanded from 2.6 million households to 3.6 million households in the next two weeks. This means we will support an additional one million homes with our social investment programs. A technical committee is working on this and will submit a report to me by the end of this week.





49.       The Security Agencies have risen to the challenges posed by this unprecedented situation with gallantry and I commend them. I urge them to continue to maintain utmost vigilance, firmness as well as restraint in enforcing the restriction orders while not neglecting statutory security responsibilities.



50.       Fellow Nigerians, follow the instructions on social distancing. The irresponsibility of the few can lead to the death of the many. Your freedom ends where other people’s rights begin.



51.       The response of our State Governors has been particularly impressive, especially in aligning their policies and actions to those of the Federal Government.



52.       In the coming weeks, I want to assure you that the Federal Government, through the Presidential Task Force, will do whatever it takes to support you in this very difficult period. I have no doubt that, by working together and carefully following the rules, we shall get over this pandemic.

               

53.       I must also thank the Legislative arm of Government for all its support and donations in this very difficult period. This collaboration is critical to the short and long-term success of all the measures that we have instituted in response to the pandemic.





54.       As a result of this pandemic, the world as we know it has changed. The way we interact with each other, conduct our businesses and trade, travel, educate our children and earn our livelihoods will be different.



55.       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”.



56.       The Ministers will be supported by the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and Economic Sustainability Committee in executing this mandate.



57.       I am also directing 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.



58.       Finally, I want to thank the members of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 for all their hard work so far. Indeed, the patriotism shown in your work is exemplary and highly commendable.



59.       Fellow Nigerians, I have no doubt that by working together and carefully following the rules, we shall get over this pandemic and emerge stronger in the end.



60.       I thank you all for listening and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.