COVID-19 lockdown: FG says bank branches in Lagos, FCT, Ogun can open from Monday

 Bank branches operating in Lagos, Ogun and the FCT will be opening from Monday, May 4, the presidential task force on COVID-19 has said - The banking halls will be open to customers between 8am and 2pm - Recall that President Buhari had earlier directed that the lockdown in the states be relaxed, starting from May 4 The presidential task force on COVID-19 has said bank branches operating in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will be open to customers, starting from Monday, May 4. Sani Aliyu, the national coordinator of the presidential task force, said banking halls would be open to customers between 8am and 2pm, The Cable reports. Ottagistreel notes that the task force's statement followed President Muhammadu Buhari's directive which relaxed the lockdown in the two states and Abuja, starting from May 4. The president, however, replaced the lockdown with 8pm to 6am curfew with compulsory use of face masks, observance of social distancing and other recommended preventive measures. He also imposed a fresh total lockdown in Kano state.  Meanwhile, President Donald Trump of the United States on Tuesday, April 28, called President Buhari to express solidarity with Nigeria over the COVID-19 pandemic. The minister of information, Lai Mohammed, at a briefing in Abuja said the US president promised to send across ventilators to Nigeria. President Buhari's aide on digital media, Tolu Ogulesi, also disclosed that the conversation between both leaders focused on Nigeria’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. He said the telephone call occurred at the request of President Trump. In another report, President Trump has suggested that the United States could seek damages from China over the COVID-19 outbreak. The US president reportedly made the suggestion on Monday morning, April 27 at a press briefing. Trump said his administration was conducting serious investigations into Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. The US president noted that his administration believes that China could have stopped COVID-19 from spreading globally .