Seye Ojo, Ibadan
A third-term member of the Senate, Teslim Folarin, representing Oyo Central on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the position taken by President Muhammadu Buhari in his broadcast on COVID-19 Cumulative Lockdown transmitted nationwide on Monday as disappointing and a mere political decision that stood against all logic.
He made his mind known when he spoke via telephone on a radio programme COVID-19 Situation Room in Ibadan, yesterday.
Folarin, a former Senate Leader, and 2015 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the position taken by the president stood against all logic when the reviewed the statistics, ranging from the first lockdown to the second one. According to him, the country has over 147 per cent increase in the pandemic outbreak.
Folarin was of the opinion that Buhari ought to have announced another round of lockdown for two weeks.
“As at this morning (Tuesday), we have 1,273 cases, 40 deaths in 32 states, amounting to 294 per cent rise. Mr. President’s action stands against all logic. If I have to be honest, I was disappointed with the position Mr. President took. It stands against all logic. The governors didn’t want to spend money. I don’t know why. They said to the president behind the scene, if you want us to lockdown, give us money and the president is not willing to release money to them. So, they put pressure on the president and Mr. President seeing high resistance from the citizens that there can’t be total lockdown without palliatives. For that reason, Mr President allowed the governors to have their way, that’s what I suspect.”