Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has ordered civil servants in Lagos to stay at home tomorrow in spite of the earlier announcement of gradual easing of the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja, as from Monday.
The governor, in a statement on Sunday night, said only emergency workers and those on essential duties would be allowed to work from tomorrow (Monday).
President Muhammadu Buhari had imposed a lockdown on Ogun, Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The lockdown, which had lasted for five weeks, was reviewed last Monday to allow for gradual easing from Monday, 4th May, 2020.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the decision to keep civil servants at home is aimed at preventing overcrowding.
He said in amending the work guidelines earlier issued, which stopped members of the public service from Grade Level 1 to 12 from going to work; the state had to review the position and had extended the directive to all civil servants, regardless of level.
“All civil servants must stay away from work on Monday,” he said.
The governor stated, “On Tuesday, only officers from Grade Level 15 and above have express permission to come to work. All other essential officers that may need to be at work will be informed by the Accounting Officer of each Ministry as may be required.
“From Monday on, there will be a curfew from 8 pm to 6 am and all movements within these hours are prohibited, except for people on essential services, which are agro-products, petroleum products, relief materials, and food supplies.
“We want to use this as a demonstration of our commitment to the gradual easing of the lockdown. We do not want people to rush out tomorrow and see the easing of the lockdown as an attempt to believe that the spread of the pandemic is all over.”