Joe Effiong, Uyo
There has been palpable tension in Akwa Ibom State following the expiration of the first 14-day lockdown declared by the state government after five persons were confirmed Covid-19 positive by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on April 2, 2020.
Governor Udom Emmanuel while reacting to that threatening news, had declared a 14-day lockdown beginning at 5pm on April 3, 2020. The lockdown effectively expires at 5 pm on Thursday, April 16.
The state has so far declined to confirm or deny the rumours that it is planning to tow the line of the Federal government and some other state governments, which had since extended the lockdown by another 14 days.
When our correspondent confronted the secretary to the state government (SSG), Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, on the possibility of extending the lockdown, he parried the question saying that extending or not extending the lockdown would “depend on science not on politics”
Ekuwem equally said that so far, Akwa Ibom State government had yet to receive a dim or a grain from the Federal Government as palliatives for the Covid-19 lockdown.
“We are hearing it as rumour that the Federal Government has given states some palliatives; we have not received anything from that angle. Everything you see us distribute to the people in the state comes from the state,” Ekuwem said, even as he paid tribute to a lot of bodies, corporate and individual who have donated to that cause.
“It is pertinent to mention that a good number of individuals, groups and corporate organizations have demonstrated their support for the administration’s effort to curb the pandemic through donations of cash and materials, including ambulance and other medical facilities and consumables.
“Beginning from Easter Monday, lorry loads of garri, flour, rice and beans, produced within Akwa Ibom State, started leaving warehouses for onward delivery to local government headquarters. Therefore, I am glad to intimate you that as we speak, the distribution of relief materials to our people is ongoing and will be completed within the week.
“Permit me to reiterate, that these relief materials would not have come this easy, but for the visionary leadership of our governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel. When he expressed his desire to ensure that 80% of foodstuff consumed in the state is produced within the borders of the state, not many people understood his commitment.
“ Today, we bear testimony to his foresightedness, purposeful and visionary leadership, as this volume, variety and quality of rice, flour, garri and beans would definitely not have been easy to bring into Akwa Ibom at this time of global pandemic,” the SSG said.