ABUJA – President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, enjoined governors to work closely with the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to engender better harmony in the daunting task of checking the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Femi Adesina, the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity in a statement in Abuja, said Buhari made the call during an online meeting with the Governors’ Forum.

The president disclosed that the PTF had briefed him on the next steps in the national response to the pandemic, “and I have directed that they work very closely with the governors”.

He said the pandemic was “beyond technology, power, and resources,” noting that countries that had all those things, were recording the highest casualties around the world.

“We have to be very careful. We need to continue to educate and persuade the people to accept the reality of the situation, and do all that is necessary to stay safe,” the president said.

The presidential aide revealed that the meeting also discussed economic and security issues, among others, and that the governors lauded the president on the “leadership and direction” he had given the country in combating COVID-19.