“As a coalition of civil society organizations in Nigeria, we are deeply concerned about the current disarticulation and divided fronts in the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria between the federal and state governments”

“Information on the spread of the virus shows that over 20 states including the FCT have recorded cases of COVID-19 and there is the general fear of possible community transmission which will overwhelm our ailing health facilities if not checked now”

“The result today is that government rules are often in conflict, with one state canceling major events or shutting down and a neighboring state allowing movement to continue”

“We have also witnessed the raw display of power by some state governors who are ready to flex muscles with the federal government against the global and generally accepted measures of preventing the spread of the virus through physical distancing and shutting down of the states”

“This is a time bomb. If not checked now, it can vanquish the gains we have made as a nation in bringing the situation under control. The Nigerian people are generally ignorant of the pandemic and there still exist rumours that black people or our weather makes us immune to COVID-19”

“We are still blaming the travelers for seeding the virus in Nigeria but we have greater responsibilities to ensure we take bold steps to defeat the spread of this COVID-19 and also to disapprove the expectations of the western nations who anticipated millions of death in Africa due to the pandemic.”

“Our findings revealed that the rural areas and suburb of Nigeria are going on with their normal life activities and this may become our albatross if we don’t shut down the country and ensure the mass test is carried out to identify carriers of the virus”

“We, therefore, want to use this medium to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to summon a national council of state meeting, if possible online, to take a firm decision on the way to go in the fight against the pandemic in Nigeria”

“We salute our health workers for braving all odds despite the poor condition of service which they are faced with. It is our mission to continue to engage the federal and state governments in providing better living conditions and allowances for our health workers. They should be protected from contracting the virus and as such the governments should immediately prioritize the supply of safety kits to the various hospitals across the nation”

“Furthermore, we want to commend the Lagos State Government for being proactive and also for making us proud as the epicenter of Nigeria’s economy and also the state where the battle to free Nigerians from coronavirus is being fought. Governor Jide Sanwolu has shown leadership and we commend him”

“The federal government also need to be commended especially members of the presidential task force for their assiduous efforts in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria”

“We believe if the states can work with the federal government, we will win this war against COVID-19”

“On our part, we are engaging NGOs across the nation to have a common front in our renewed commitment to begin rural advocacy using modern technology and means that encourages reaching out to people while observing physical distancing”

“We have set up one of the largest Civil Society Situation Room and it is currently online to domesticate advocacy taking into consideration the peculiarities of our people”

“We shall connect Nigerians together to work together for a common purpose while complementing the government efforts in ensuring national cohesion in the fight against COVID-19”

“Finally, we want to thank the media for supporting this fight against COVID-19 and we seek better partnership in taking this campaign to the rural communities in a bid to sensitize the people and let them know that COVID-19 is not a fiction, it is real”

Thank You!

Ambassador Aironmwanbor Splendour Agbonkpolor
National Coordinator