…Governor’s Interstate Lockdown Plans

Nigerians are concerned as indications have emerged that Nigeria’s Governors, from the 36 states of the federation, have perfected plans for another 14-day interstate lockdown as part of measures to curtail the increasing number of Coronavirus disease in the country.

The Street Reporters Newspaper learnt that the decision was taken during a meeting of the governors on Wednesday.

The decision was taken a day after the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control confirmed 117 new coronavirus cases in the country with total infections rising to 782 as at Tuesday night.

But after the decision was taken to effect interstate lockdown, the country recorded another 91 new cases of COVID-19 infection.

Since Nigeria’s index case of COVID-19 virus in February, as at 11:25 pm 22nd April, 2020, Nigeria has recorded a total of 873 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria”, the NCDC tweeted on the official twitter handle. 

However, on Thursday, Nigerian authorities confirmed 108 new cases of #COVID19 as at 11:30 pm 23rd April. The total number of cases today stand at 981 with discharged totaling 197 and number of deaths now 31.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, was quoted as saying that the interstate lockdown would help in halting the continued rise in the number of cases as well as the spread of the pandemic.

According to him, the governors also resolved to set up COVID-19 committees at the regional level to be headed by health commissioners.

Governor Fayemi had on Tuesday spoken about the efforts of state governors in curbing the spread of COVID-19, saying “We are very concerned if you look at the number of times we met over the last one month.

“We’ve had five meetings which focused almost exclusively on COVID-19 and its spread and the concomitant economic effects on the Nigerian citizens,” Governor Fayemi told Channels Television.

Nigerians Kick over Planned 14-day Interstate Lockdown

As desirable as the planned interstate lockdown may be in curtailing the spread of COVID-19 infection, citizens are worried that further extension may lead to a possible breakdown of law and order due to inadequate provision of relief materials, particularly food, for already impoverished Nigerians.

Despite federal government’s claim to have spent billions of Naira to provide palliatives for the poorest citizens, including cash transfers, most urban poor and those in the hinterland have continued to insist that the palliatives have not gotten to majority of them.

A petty trader in Abuja who spoke to The Street Reporters Newspaper on condition of anonymity, accused governments at all levels of lacking commitment to cushioning the effects of the Coronavirus lockdown in the suffering masses.

A Corps member in the Federal Capital Territory on mandatory national youths Service, who could not return home before the earlier lockdown announced by President Muhammadu Buhari, described the planned interstate lockdown for 14 days as a joke.

“Come to think of it, how do we feed. Right now, even if you have cash on you, the prices of food stuff and other essential commodities are on the rise on daily basis.

“Another 14-day interstate lockdown after this 28 days will cause problems if the federal government fails to provide adequate palliatives for the ordinary citizens”, the Corps member lamented.

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