The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has called on Nigerians to take advantage of the Federal Government’s effort to cushion the effect of the pandemic on the nation’s economy and the people.
The PTF Chairman, Boss Mustapha, made the call on Thursday at the briefing of the task force in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
He noted that the United Kingdom hinted that it would be going into a recession after its economy suffered a slump in growth by a record 20 per cent in the second quarter.
Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said the Nigerian Government had put in place an Economic Sustainability Plan to prevent such occurrence.
He explained that the plan was backed by a stimulus package in the sum of N2.6 trillion to boost local economies and production, for all sizes of businesses, including small family businesses.
The PTF chairman believes it is important for businesses in the country to take advantage of the stimulus package to revive their businesses and give them a boost.
Giving an update on the outbreak of COVID-19 in Nigeria, he noted that the country has reported fewer numbers of confirmed cases in the last two weeks.
Mustapha, however, warned that the reports should not be misconstrued as a victory over the virus.
According to him, there is still a serious battle to be fought ahead as a country and it is that the nation continues to build on the successes recorded so far.
The SGF also gave an update on the ongoing exercise to evacuate Nigerians stranded in various countries as a result of the pandemic.
He revealed that a total of 14,906 people have been evacuated during the COVID-19 pandemic and almost 80 per cent of them were youths.
Mustapha added that 13,844 of the returnees had taken the COVID-19 test so far and the results of 684 people came back positive.