Buhari Declares COVID-19 “A Dangerous Infectious Disease”, Signs Regulation To Combat It

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday declared COVID-19 “a dangerous infectious disease” and signed the COVID-19, 2020 regulation tailored to combat it frontally.

This comes amidst backlash from some senior lawyers and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) over the lockdown declared on some states on Sunday March 29 by President Buhari during a nationwide broadcast.

Femi Adeshina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, in a statement, said the COVID-19 regulation has been passed and effective since Monday, March 30, 2020.

This regulation gives legal backing to the total lockdown of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states.

He said the signing of the regulation by the president is a conferment by the section 2,3 and 4 of the Quarantine Act.

The statement reads:

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“In exercise of the powers conferred on him by Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Quarantine Act (CAP Q2 LFN 2004), and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday, signed the COVID-19  Regulations, 2020, which  declared Covid-19 a dangerous infectious disease”.

“The Regulations, effective March 30, 2020, also gave legal backing to the various measures outlined in the President’s National Broadcast on March 29, 2020, such as Restriction/Cessation of Movement in Lagos, FCT and Ogun State and others toward containing the spread of the pandemic in the country”.

“In addition, to ensure that Nigerians can still perform on-line transactions and use ATMs whilst observing these restrictions, exemption is granted financial system and money markets to allow very skeletal operations in order to keep the system in light operations during the pendency of these regulations”.