Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja

Following the Federal Government of Nigeria’s announcement of a lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced that it will be shutting its Lagos and Abuja offices from March 31st until April 13th.

The ECOWAS Commission said the closure was in compliance with the directive of the Federal Government which announced a cessation of movement in Abuja and Lagos for an initial period of 14 days from Monday, March 30th.

In a statement signed by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, the Commission said the exponential increase in the spread of the virus in the West African subregion remained a source of concern.

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“In compliance with the directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria, I hereby direct as follows: All ECOWAS offices in Abuja and Lagos are hereby closed from Tuesday, 31 March to Monday, 13 April 2020.

“Staff of ECOWAS institutions in Abuja and Lagos should stay at home and continue to work from home during the period, and all staff should follow the guidelines and advisory on COVID-19 pandemic issued by WAHO and the national authorities,” Brou said.

Brou also said that as at March 29th, ECOWAS member-states recorded 894 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 24 deaths reported in the 14 member-states of the body, excluding Sierra Leone.

“Specifically in Nigeria, the host country of the ECOWAS Commission, ECOWAS Parliament and the Community Court of Justice, the number of confirmed cases has risen especially in Lagos and Abuja, which have recorded 68 and 21 confirmed cases respectively. As at 09:30 pm on 29 March 2020, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) officially reported that the confirmed cases in Nigeria had risen to one hundred and eleven with one death,” Brou stated.