The Lagos State Government said it will offer incentives to businesses that employ large number of people to avoid job loss amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, revealed this while announcing it Register-to-Open guidelines as the state  plans to re-open the economy.

He said businesses must ensure that all businesses must put in place and follow the government’s protocols.

“This and more are some of the things I spoke about earlier today as a panelist in a webinar discussion organised by FSDH where I gave a frontline account of how Lagos has worked to combat the #COVID19 pandemic and how we are now working to open up the economy,” he said.

“We are caught between managing hunger and sustaining an economy that is not only dependent on commercial activities in Lagos alone but also in other states.

“We are at the stage where we have to balance public health safety and the economy that affects the wellbeing of the people.

“We are having conversations with different sectors on the requirements they need to ensure they do not retrench their staff. What many of the companies want will affect the State’s IGR but we are willing to make the sacrifice to prevent the loss of livelihood of our citizens.

The re-opening will not be hastily done. The various sectors will be reset in a gradual manner. The construction and manufacturing sector will be accorded high priority while the entertainment and hospitality sectors will be considered in the second phase.

We are trying to balance the reactivation of the state’s economic activities and our response in containing #COVID19.

We are committed to tackling this virus and breaking the cycle of transmission but we must all do our parts to take responsibility and comply with the guidelines.