President Muhammadu Buhari at his office in the Presidential Villa in Abuja on March 26, 2020. Photo: Twitter- @NGRPresident

President Muhammadu Buhari will address the nation by 7pm on Sunday.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, announced this in a statement hours before President Buhari is scheduled to address Nigerians.

“Television, radio, and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to hook up to the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) respectively for the broadcast,” he said.

The scheduled broadcast comes amid mixed reactions triggered by what some described as the inability of the President to address the people against the backdrop of coronavirus (COVID) in the country.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, had confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the country in late February.

Despite the measures put in place by the Federal and state governments to curtail the spread of the disease, the number of confirmed cases in the country surged to 97 as of 10:40 pm on March 28, 2020.

A Suitable Style

Lagos State is worst-hit with 59 confirmed cases while the Federal Capital Territory trailed with 16 cases.

Similarly, Oyo has seven cases, Ogun has three cases, while Enugu, Edo, Bauchi, and Osun State have two cases respectively.

Ekiti, Rivers, Benue, and Kaduna States have also recorded one case of COVID-19.

Among those who tested positive to coronavirus included governors and some top government officials in the country.

Worried by the situation, some Nigerians took to social media to call out President Buhari for not addressing the people in a television broadcast, although he tweeted recently.

During his appearance recently on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Mr Adesina defended his boss.

He stressed that not addressing the people was the President’s style and there was no need for regular briefing, as long as there was no communication breach.