SGF Clarifies Phase Four Restrictions

• The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, has clarified the misrepresentation in the briefing of the PSC on Monday.
• The SGF stated that the announcement by the National Incident Manager, Dr. Mukhtar Mohammed, during the PSC press briefing was taken out of context.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee, (PSC) on COVID-19, Mr. Boss Mustapha, has clarified the misrepresentation in the briefing of the PSC on Monday.

Mustapha, while speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, said it was wrongly reported that the Federal Government (FG) had re-introduced nationwide curfew between 12:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. as part of the COVID-19 safety protocols.

The SGF stated that the announcement by the National Incident Manager, Dr. Mukhtar Mohammed, during the PSC press briefing was taken out of context, noting that the Federal Government did not relax the curfew earlier imposed under Phase Three of the eased lockdown.

Mustapha explained that what the National Incident Manager said was that the Federal Government was maintaining the curfew under Phase Four of the phased restriction of movement.

He said, “Under the Fourth Phase of restriction of movement, night clubs, gyms and others will remain closed till further notice; while all citizens will also ensure that mass gathering outside work settings do not exceed a maximum of 50 people in an enclosed space.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: FG Declares Nationwide Curfew

“These restrictions have been in existence under the Third Phase but are being maintained under Phase Four of the phased restriction of movement.”

The SGF further stressed that because people had been violating the safety protocols, they had forgotten that the protocols were never relaxed in the first place.

“Therefore, the PSC hereby reiterates that there is no newly introduced lockdown. There is no need for the panic that followed the announcement of the Fourth Phase of the phased restriction of movement.

“We will continue to appeal to members of the public to comply with these restrictions because they are necessary safety measures against contracting the dreaded Coronavirus, which is still ravaging human populations across the world,” Mustapha added.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the transition of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to PSC on COVID-19, with effect from April 1, with a modified mandate to reflect the non-emergent status of COVID-19 as a potentially long-term pandemic.

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