President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the release of 70,000 tonnes of grains to be shared with the poor and vulnerable people affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to Mustapha, the tonnes of grains will be released from the National Grain Reserve.
He said 60,000 metric tonnes of the grains would be shared to the vulnerables in FCT, Lagos and Ogun states, which are presently on lockdown, while the remaining 10,000 metric tonnes would be shared to the vulnerables in other frontline states across the country.
Mustapha said: “We have received situation reports from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Inter-State traffic across the country as at Tuesday, 31st March, 2020.
“Indications are that there was a reasonable level of compliance with the Presidential directive which has led to great reduction of traffic on major highways.
“We have however received reports of challenges arising from the enforcement of the Presidential directives by security agents generally and in States where Governors have also imposed their own measures.”
It can be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a total lockdown of Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State in bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.
