In a quest to be more proactive in containing the dreaded Coronavirus, COVID-19, President Buhari has today set up a 12-man task force for the control of the disease. The task force, a team which is to be headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha has a representative from the World Health Organisation, WHO as a member.
The information was contained in a statement disclosed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.
The information which partly reads; “Given the current global outbreak of the novel Coronavirus and its potential of causing significant disruption to health services in the country as well as impacting negatively on the economy, President Muhammadu Buhari has established a Presidential Task Force for the Control of the Coronavirus-19 Disease (COVID-19).
“This action is in preparation for the unlikely but probable major outbreak of the disease in the country which will require a multi-sectored inter-governmental approach as advised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) similar to that adopted for the HIV epidemic in the last two decades.”
The task force is mandated to operate within a time frame of six months with effect from today which is their inauguration day.
Accordingly, members of the task force team include Boss Mustapha (SGF), Chairman, Dr Sani Aliyu, national coordinator, Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Services, Sadia Umar Faruk.
Others are; Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed Minister of Environment, Mohammed Mahmoud, Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, Director-General, State Services, Yusuf Bichi, the Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekwazu and the WHO Country Representative.
