A socio-political group, the One Nigeria Movement (ONM) has advised
the Cross River State Government through its epidemiologist to focus
more on concrete steps towards fighting the Coronavirus pandemic
rather than using the global health crisis for grandstanding and other
theatrics.
The group described comment by Governor Ayade that he had to spend
nights at the bridge linking Cross River State with Akwa Ibom State in
order to prevent people infected with Covid-19 from neighboring states
from coming to Cross River State, as childish and unbecoming of a
governor who is probably living on false belief that his State was
free of Coronavirus despite not testing anyone.
According to a statement on Tuesday, by its Convener General,
Ahmed Sodiq-Mugoro and Secretary, Babatunde Aliyu, ONM said the Cross
River State Government should rather concentrate on putting in place
necessary medical facilities as being done by the government of Akwa
Ibom State.
One of the questions to be asked is how many people the State
Government has tested for Coronavirus before declaring the State free
of the virus?
Other questions are whether or not any Isolation Centre has been built
in the state and what concrete facilities have been put in place to
checkmate coronavirus.
We also challenge the State Epidemiologist to publish the number of
tests that have been conducted or they should forever shut up because
to us, fighting Coronavirus should not be reduced to theatrics but
well – thought out approach that States like Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Akwa
Ibom and others have adopted.
The group, which also condemned the non-adherence to social distancing
in Cross River State, noted that videos of youths that gathered at
Ayade Industrial Park in Calabar for employment promised by the
governor was a clear signal of a disaster waiting to happen and the
governor must not be seen as the one encouraging such gathering.
