Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government has charged governments of Lagos, Ogun and 15 other states sharing borders with Nigeria’s neighbours to be vigilant so as to prevent illegal migrants from entering the country as a preventive measure against possible Coronavirus carriers from entering into the country.
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, a member of the Presidential Taskforce of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic said this at the daily media briefing in Abuja.
Aregbesola said those border states have a lot of roles to play in the fight against Coronavirus so as not to reverse efforts and gains made in the war.
He said: “Let me seize this opportunity to admonish Nigerians that are living in our border communities in the states sharing borders with our west and Central African neighbours and these states are Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara, Niger, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Cross River and Akwa-Ibom. These are the states resenting Nigeria from our neighbours in the west to the north and east.
“I am seizing this opportunity to admonish them to promptly report any illegal entry of anybody across our borders and alert the officers and men of the Nigerian Immigration Service.
“It is in our collective interest to prevent opportunistic entry of COVID-19 into Nigeria by any means. We as a people and a nation have sacrificed a lot of our time, energy, resources and wealth as a people and as a nation that are ready to take the maximum of gains that we are making in the containment of this virus by being alert to any movement at all our borders by anybody except our own citizens who even as well must report to officers and men of the Nigerian Immigration Service.
“These gains come at a very high price; it’s taking tolls on our economy; it’s taking tolls on our spiritual lives; it’s taking tolls on our social lives. So, we must therefore not take it for granted. We must support the government to keep our borders secure against the virus.”