President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the exemption of key players in the financial services sector from restrictions on movement due to the coronavirus.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, announced this in a joint statement on Monday.
Buhari had on Sunday, in his nationwide broadcast, ordered a total lockdown restricting movements in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja.
The joint statement, however, said they “are mindful of the difficulties these restrictions would bring on ordinary Nigerians and are grateful to the President for approving these exemptions, which should help ease some of these burdens.”
“To ensure that Nigerians can still perform online transactions and use ATMs whilst observing these restrictions, we will like to inform the general public and all affected stakeholders that we have obtained exemptions from the President to allow very skeletal operations in the Financial System and Money Markets in order to keep the system in light operations during this time,” the statement added.
“All relevant staff of affected outfits and agencies should look out for further instructions from their immediate bosses.”
They urged all “Nigerians to be patient, cooperative and united as all hands are on deck to defeat this virus.”
