Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe state has called on the Federal Government, National Center for Decease Control (NCDC), and other authorities in the country to count Gombe out of total lock-down.
The governor stated this during a courtesy visit by the ministerial team on COVID-19 pandemic which was in the state to access situation around the COVID-19 and the mass death incident in some northern states.
According to him, Gombe cannot go hundred percent lockdown: “Because we are ordinary people 70-80% of our people are innocently living in our villages. We would not have gotten into this if our borders were controlled and properly manage.
So, totally lock-down is not an option for us, because a large percentage of the people are local farmers, who must go to farm especially now that the rainy season has set in. He further disclosed that it is almost impossible: “From day one, personally, I objected to the idea of total lock-down because of the situation of our people”.
While seeking for financial and other support in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Gombe, Governor Yahaya said: “We will align with you (NCDC), financially, give us the support, tell the Ministry of Health to come to our aid. Tell the Ministry of Finance, I know through the Governor’s Forum and the NNPC, there is a lot that is coming.
I hope it will come as soon as possible so that we will join hands. So far, not even one kobo came from the Federal Government in order to support Gombe State out of this pandemic,” the governor added.
He further stated that: “By my observation, we may be in this pandemic for a long time before halt, because this thing has no date of ending, so, we must learn to put people to manage the situation and live with it and do the correct thing as a government and in order to give whatever is required”.
According to the leader of the delegation Dr. Nasiru Sani Gwarzo who had earlier commended Gombe state for setting up what he called a well-assembled team on the fight against COVID-19 even before the onset of the epidemic in the state, there is a potential risk attached to the relaxing of a partial lockdown placed by the state government.
He said: “There is the potential risk of a second wave for relaxing the lockdown, which the Gombe State Government was gradually easing because of the progress being made in the number of infections. Consequently, there is a need to prepare for it, as well as ensure it does not reoccur