Coronavirus Pandemic: FG orders Early payment of salaries

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning to ensure that Nigerian civil servants get their salaries paid at the appropriate time.

The President gave the directive on Thursday during a meeting with members of the Presidential Committee on the review of the Impact of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on the Economy, held at the State House, Abuja.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said the President further directed that measures to protect the poor and the vulnerable must be ensured.

Finance Minister said the committee met with the President to give him update on the developments influenced by the COVID-19 Pandemic globally and how it has affected the country’s economy.

She added that aside ensuring timely payment of civil servants’ salaries as directed by the President, the President also ordered the protection of critical national assets.

Finance Minister stated that, 

“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”

In the same vein, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, who is also part of the committee stated that, the Committee met with the President to keep him informed of developments around the economy and details at the international oil market.

In a similar development, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the committee had the cause to meet with the President to suggest ways to redirect the economy to protect the country against global economic recession.

CBN Governor said,

“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”