• Thursday, March 28, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

BusinessDay set to host national discourse on Nigeria’s COVID-19 response

A National Conversation- Mapping Nigeria’s Response to COVID-19

BusinessDay Media, West Africa’s leading business news and intelligence provider, is set to host leaders in Nigeria’s private and public sector to make sense of the country’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak and provide clear directions on where the economy is headed.

The national dialogue tagged ‘A National Conversation: Mapping Nigeria’s Response to COVID-19’ will hold 16-17 June, 2020 at 11 am, with registration on-going here.

Conversations at the digital dialogues will be led by luminaries such as Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, and Akin Abayomi, Lagos State commissioner for health.

The digital event will address the front-burner issues as Nigeria reopens its economy as well as position participants to filter through the noise and take advantage of opportunities in the country.

Other speakers include Ibukun Awosika, chairman, First Bank of Nigeria; Obiageli Ezekwesili, member, advisory panel, Nigeria Natural Resources Charter/former VP, World Bank Africa; Aliyu Abdulhameed, MD/CEO, NISRAL; Doyin Salami, chairman, Economic Advisory Council; Olisa Agbakoba, senior partner, Olisa Agbakoba Legal; Mansur Ahmed, president, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN); Ofovwe Aig-Imuokhuede, director, Africa Initiative for Governance, and Philip Asiodu, former minister of petroleum.

Also expected to speak at the digital dialogues are Yemi Kale, statistician-general, National Bureau of Statistics; Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State; Charles Robertson, global chief economist, Renaissance Capital; Abubakar Siddique Mohammed, vice-chair, ANAP Foundation COVID-19 Think Tank; Sutura Aisha Bello, PPP component lead, UK Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), among others.

So far, Nigeria has recorded more than 13,000 confirmed cases of the virus with around 3 percent fatality rate and 31 percent of the cases recovered. The country has entered the second phase of easing lockdowns and activities are gradually resuming.

In response to the pandemic outbreak, Nigeria rolled out palliatives for vulnerable households, created credit facilities for businesses, and made sweeping changes in certain areas including but not limited to governance and budgeting, oil and gas, and health sector.

As individuals and corporate entities ponder on the new norms, BusinessDay is providing a platform to facilitate an understanding of the various measures taken by economic and health managers in the country, zeroing in on the policies, their rationales and the expected consequences.

The digital dialogues will also provide an opportunity to hear from the experts that are steering the country through its turbulent times and get first-hand information on what might follow in the emerging era as the country has hinted on many reforms to come.

The programme is sponsored by CSCS, FBNHoldings, Hadiel, Jobberman, Nigeria Natural Resources Charter, Upfield, and Union Bank.