The Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has lifted the absolute lockdown placed on Kabba/Bunu communities over the alleged coronavirus index cases in those communities.
The governor’s pronouncement was coming barely three days into the contact tracing and testing of people in the communities.
According to the governor the purpose of the lockdown in those communities have been achieved and need no further delayed for the initial 14 days declared.
Governor Bello maintained that the state remained COVID-19 free, even though another case was announced for the state on Thursday, by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, (NCDC).
He said all the samples collected would forward to the NCDC for further confirmation, saying that the state would be transparent in the handling of the COVID-19 in the state, just as it has done with other similar infectious diseases, like Lassa Fever and yellow fever.
The governor, however, charged the NCDC not to politicize the issue of health, saying that the state would continue to pay serious attention to the health needs of the people of the state.
He said the NCDC must continue to respect it’s protocol and guidelines, noting that politicizing the issue would negate the seriousness attached to the issue by both the federal and the state governments.
The Obaro of Kabba, Oba Solomon Owoniyi had on Thursday appealed to the state government to relax the lockdown, imposed on the area by the state government as a way to containing alleged COVID-19 in the area, saying within 24 hours farmers in the area have lost their farm produce to the activities of herdsmen.
Governor, Bello had on June 1, 2020, ordered two weeks total lockdown in Kabba/Bunu local government council, starting from 12 midnight on Tuesday over alleged cases of Coronavirus in the area
Governor Bello equally directed the management of the Federal Medical Center Lokoja, (FMC), should isolate doctors and any health officials that participated in moving the man and his son to Abuja.
This decision followed an allegation that the Kabba Chief Imam, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Ejibunu and one of his sons were taken to Abuja by NCDC for a medical test after it was alleged that both of them were suffering from Coronavirus.
The Governor pointed out that, even though the state does not believe in the allocated figures, he has to lock down the local government so that COVID-19 committee can conduct checks and obtain samples of the people for further examination.
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