President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to ensure that Nigerian civil servants get their salaries paid promptly.
The Nigerian leader issued the directive on Thursday at the presidential villa during a meeting with members of the COVID-19 Impact Assessment Committee to review the effect of the pandemic on the economy.
Members of the committee include the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele and the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after the meeting, Chairman of the Committee and Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the President further directed that measures be put in place to protect the poor during this lockdown.
Ahmed said the committee briefed the President on the developments caused by the pandemic globally and how much effect it has had on the nation’s economy.
She added that besides ensuring prompt payment of civil servants’ salaries, the President urged the ministry to ensure that critical infrastructures are protected and as much as possible during the lockdown.
“Well, he has directed that we should make sure that salaries are paid, make critical infrastructures like roads, rails are protected, as much as possible use local inputs so that we retain value within our economy. And also make sure that we have measures that protect the poor and the vulnerable.”
“This meeting was just to brief Mr. President as the situation we are in keeps evolving on a daily basis. As the health crisis gradually expands, affecting states and also the lockdown that has been ordered to help curtail expansion of the health crisis.
“The consequences of the lockdown is the additional slowing down of the economy and the measures that we need to take to mitigate the negative consequences of the slow trade and businesses”, she said.
Also speaking, another member of the committee, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the committee had met with the President to suggest ways to redirect the economy so as to get it insulated against approaching global economic recession.
“The global economy naturally like we all know at this time will naturally suffer growth problems and may even lead to recession globally. So we are trying to see what we can do as a country to rescue our own situation so we don’t go the direction many will go.
“It is not going to be easy but we can only assure our people that we are on top of it and that we will resolve it and Nigerians will still be better for it”, he said.
