Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state has extended the lockdown in the State by one extra week, meaning opening up of economic activities will now start from May 09.
The Governor attributed the sudden surge of Coronavirus pandemic cases which rose by 62.5%, from 35 cases to 56 cases within a week, to the porosity of Nigeria’s land borders with the Republic of Benin which are located within the state; Ilara and Iwoye borders in Imeko-Afon local government and Idi-Iroko border at Idi-Iroko in Ipokia local government.
With the sudden surge of COVID-19 cases in Ogun state, the governor said there must be a striking balance with the public health safety, economic welfare as well as approved and unapproved activities of immigrants.
This, according to the governor, must be done in such a way that totality of public health as well as economic welfare would not be in jeopardy, hence, Governor Dapo Abiodun declared a week extension to the lockdown in accordance with the President’s empowerment of the affected governors to review the Federal Government’s directives on lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states.
Speaking in Abeokuta on Friday night while giving an update of COVID-19 situation in Ogun state, Governor Abiodun said, “My dear people of Ogun State, you will recall that that Mr. President, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, in his first address to the nation on 29th March, 2020 on the COVID-19 pandemic declared a lockdown on Lagos State, Ogun State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for 14 days in the first instance.
“At that time, Ogun State appealed for a week extension for the people of our State to prepare for the lockdown. You will also recall that on Monday, 27th April, Mr. President announced a further extension of the lockdown in the affected States and FCT for another week which should end by Sunday, 3rd May.
“However, for us in Ogun State, the extension will now end on Sunday, 9th May, that is, taking into consideration the initial one week of grace granted us by Mr. President.
“In all these, it is my duty as your Governor to update you on new developments on the COVID-19 pandemic in our dear State and make further clarifications arising from Mr. President’s address on Monday, 27th April, 2020. In Ogun State, we will continue to thank God that our efforts towards fighting the COVID-19 pandemic to a stand-still are achieving desired results.
“However, we know also that complacency comes with fatal repercussions. In the last few weeks, the number of confirmed cases in our dear Ogun State has continued to rise to more than double.
“As at last night, 30th April, 2020, there are 56 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ogun State as against 35 confirmed cases a week ago. Out of these 8 have been discharged to re-join their families and restart normal life; whilst we have 47 active cases who are currently receiving efficient treatment from our medical officers. We hope and pray that they will also be discharged in due course.
“We have now discovered that most of the new cases arise from the influx of immigrants, that is returnees and visitors into our dear State. These fall into two categories; those Nigerians coming into the country through our land borders and those coming into our dear State from others States of the country.
“On Tuesday 28th April, we discovered that 24 people entered Ilushin in Ogun Waterside LGA, and, just 24 hours after, another 12 people were rounded up in Odogbolu LGA. This calls for vigilance from all of us.
“Their appearance in our dear State has serious implications for public health and safety because the Federal Government has prohibited all forms of interstate travel except for essential service. We hereby call on our law enforcement agents, traditional rulers and community leaders to be vigilant and report any visitors to the police.
“My fellow people of Ogun State, it is obvious that no nation can survive a total lockdown of economic activities for an elongated time. There is no indication of when a vaccine will be developed for COVID- 19, therefore all we can do is to strike a balance between public health safety and economic welfare of the citizenry. No doubt, this is a fragile situation.
“Therefore, it is very important that all of us adhere strictly to recommendations of professionals during this delicate period, especially, and at all times, as we go about our daily economic activities.
“In line with Mr. President’s address to the entire nation, the Lockdown is still in place. However, the Lockdown will begin to be relaxed gradually and in phases from Monday, 4th May, in consideration of the peculiarity of the different States.
“To this end, our relaxation window remains Monday, 4th May; Wednesday, 6th May; and Friday, 8th May. The new time frame will, however, now be from 7am to 5pm on those days.
“This will give our people ample time to conduct necessary economic activities and to get to their various homes before the commencement of the daily curfew as directed by Mr. President. For the avoidance of doubt, the curfew is from 8pm to 6am everyday and will be strictly enforced.
“Let me restate that as I announced last week, the use of face mask is now compulsory in public. We have procured over 1 million face masks that we are distributing across the State to groups such as Market Women, Artisans, Transport Unions, Law Enforcement Agencies, Civil Servants and religious groups among others. Nevertheless everybody has a personal responsibility to procure and wear a face mask.”
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
