TheCable

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), says the presidential task force on COVID-19 is consulting with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the lockdown. 

In efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, President Muhammadu Buhari had on April 13 extended the lockdown by two weeks in the federal capital territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun. 

In a letter to the task force on Wednesday, the NLC had warned against further extension of the lockdown. 

But at a briefing on Thursday, Mustapha who chairs the task force, said there has been no threat from the NLC. 

“There’s no threat from labour. The president of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Waba was with me. He had come to see me. They had written a letter quite all right, but also in the same manner suggesting ways,” he said. 

“You know they represent the working class. They also listen and see what’s happening in different climes. Ayuba Waba is not only NLC president, he’s also the international president of the labour movement. I believe that he’s consulting all over the world to his workers in different countries, and also taking experiences of how other nations are dealing with the lockdown, because the entire world is on a lockdown.

“So, there’s no threat from labour, we are consulting with them. They have opinions they share with us, and at the end of the day at every step of what we have done this far, we’ve kept contact with the working class to ensure that at least their views are adequately taken.” 

The SGF also said the federal government is yet to decide on the inter-state travel ban imposed by the governors.  

He said the governors had proposed and the federal government is yet to take a position. 

“Like I said, that is their proposal. the federal government is yet to make a decision in respect to that,” he said. 

“And as to whether that will become part of our recommendation to Mr President, the PTF will meet and take a holistic look at all the proposals that are coming in as to the next line of action going forward.

“This would not be taken in isolation. I want to assure you that we are working in synergy and collaboratively with the state governments, subnational entities and by the time we true with this phase, going into the third phase it would be a more collaborative decision that would have been taken into consideration the input and interest from different segments of our society.”