By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Prof Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross River has criticised the current methodology being used by the Federal Government and its agencies to test Covid-19.
He has also queried why Nigeria cannot produce things like Reagents required to carry out Covid-19 Testing.
Prompt News reports that so far, Cross River and Kogi states have not recorded any case of coronavirus that is ravaging the world including 34 States and FCT in Nigeria.
Prof Ayade who spoke today (Thursday) on Sunrise Daily programme on Channels Television, cautioned the Federal Government on the continued lockdown of the country in the face of the global economic downturn occasioned by Covid-19.
He therefore, called for the end of the nationwide lockdown even as he warned against its huge economic cost to Nigeria.
According to him, “shutting down the economy of the country for this long period of time has great economic consequences. For example, closing the country’s airspace with no flight order has resulted in all the airports closed and all the aircrafts grounded.
“For this reason, the aircrafts will not be able to fly without the proper checks because they have been parked for a long time.
“I am happy that Nigeria’s Aviation Minister is a very experienced professional who will not allow aircrafts to fly without proper checks. I am sure some of the aircrafts will go abroad for checks before they will be allowed to operate in Nigeria. This is the fact”, Prof. Ayade argued.
The Governor who was giving update on Covid-19 pandemic fight in his state insisted that he is right not to declare a lockdown in Cross River state, pointing out that there are no cases of the virus in his state hence there is no reason to shutdown economic activities of the state.
Said he, “We do not have Covid-19 case in Cross River state. My government has closed all the local and international boarders and each if my Commissioners and Special Advisers alongside all the securities are manning all the entry points to Cameroon and states bordering Cross River state”.
Prof. Ayade also justified his decision to lift the ban on religious worship centers, stressing that “the leadership of religious bodies have been ordered to ensure that all the existing health protocol are observed in the worship centers and our Health Officials will be physically present at worship centers to enforce the hand washing, use of hand sanitizers, etc.”.
Prof. Ayade who pride himself as a “Digital Governor” also commended the leadership of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) for the favourable reports the NCDC Team that visited Cross River state presented after their trip to the state.
He said that the NCDC Team saw for themselves during the visit that with all the measures the Cross River state government put in place there is no way Covid-19 pandemic can have a foothold in his state.
