Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State on Monday announced the total lockdown of Kabba-Bunu local government area, where the index case of coronavirus in the state was recorded last week.
The governor said he was forced to make the pronouncement to curb the spread of the disease, saying a medical team will go from house to house in the affected area to obtain samples for tests in order to determine the extent of contagion among the people.
The governor also assured that necessary palliatives will be made available to residents in the local government area.
The governor, who lambasted the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for the way it handled the case of the Chief Imam of Kabba, Sheikh Abubakar Ejibunu, and his son whom he said purportedly tested positive, said the state government was deliberately sidelined in all the tests carried out by the Centre.
The governor, who took issue with the NCDC’s daily COVID-19 case updates, said it was ‘professionally wrong, unethical, dangerous and misleading’ the way the numbers of the victims were been rolled out daily, arguing that it has caused more panic than the disease itself.
According to the governor, who maintains that the state is still COVID-19 free, some people have politicised the the pandemic crisis while others are taking economic advantage.