7th April, 2020
Oyo State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has lauded the Federal Government for taking decisive action to ameliorate the effect of coronavirus on Nigerians.
Chief Akin Oke, the state APC chairman said this in a statement in Ibadan on Tuesday.
Oke said that President Muhammadu Buhari should be commended for the action taken so far to contain the spread of the virus in the country, in spite of the nation’s scarce resources.
He attributed the relative containment of the spread of the virus in the country to the proactive measures put in place by the federal and state governments.
“COVID-19 took the whole world by storm and has claimed several thousands of lives in superpower nations such as China, US, UK, Spain and Italy.
“And Nigeria has only a record of five deaths and less than 250 cases with 25 recoveries as at now, in spite of a huge population of about 200 million people,” he added.
Okey contended that as a member of the global community, it would have been extremely difficult for Nigeria to prevent the virus from entering the country.
“We are not disputing the fact that much is still needed to be done to align with the rest of the world in the quest to completely defeat coronavirus.
“It is on this premise that we call for more efforts from Oyo State Government under Gov. Seyi Makinde to raise its game and ensure that no stone is left unturned in the bid to protect the people of the state from the virus,” he stated.
He said that it was not the best time to cover up incompetence and apportion blame to the federal government or the immediate past APC administration of Gov. Abiola Ajimobi in the state.
According to him, it is time for the present administration to rise to the challenge posed by COVID-19 in the state.
“It was Ajimobi who built the facilities in Olodo, Jericho and few other places across the state being prepared for the treatment of COVID-19 patients,” he said.
He expressed worry that the state had yet to collaborate with the federal government and relevant agencies on the need to attract the right attention to the state.
“The state has nine confirmed cases amidst a population of more than 9 million people,” he stated.
He also commended the APC members that had reached out to the indigent members of the party and other residents.
“Many of our people have risen to the occasion and worked assiduously to give succour to the people across all divides in cash and kind since COVID-19 came with its attendant lockdown,” he added.
He appealed to wealthy Nigerians and corporate organisations to come to the aid of the less-privileged in society with cash and other relief materials.
“As the world looks toward a complete eradication of Coronavirus, we urge more caution and appeal to the people to avoid any activity capable of increasing its spread,” Oke said.
He called for strict adherence to advice by health experts, WHO, National Centre for Disease Control and the state government in the collective fight against the spread of Coronavirus.