President Buhari on Monday signed the Covid-19 Regulations 2020 which declared Covid-19 a dangerous infectious disease and legalized lockdown of activities in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states to enable government contain further spread of coronavirus.
The president relied on powers conferred on him by Sections 2,3 and 4 of the Quarantine Act (CAP Q2 LFN 2004) and all powers enabling him in that behalf.
The regulations which took effect March 30, 2020 also gave legal backing to all other measures outlined by the President in his nationwide broadcast on Sunday. The measures particularly include the immediate implementation of a three month repayment moratorium for all government interventions including, TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni loans as well as those implemented through the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture and the Nigeria Export Import Bank.
As part of the regulations also, the president granted exemption for the financial and money markets to run very skeletal activities and to ensure that Nigerians can still perform online transactions and as well use their ATMs during the period.
It also granted critical staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Deposit Money Banks (DMBs); Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc; Switching companies; Mobile money operators; as well as Payment solution service providers leave to move around during the lockdown and deliver essential duties.
Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja
