Why Seyi Makinde is apologizing and how Oyo plans to deal with COVID-19
As coronavirus continue to cause panic across the world, the Oyo State government, like other states in Nigeria, has announced that it is prepared for pandemic incidents and also putting measures in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, though it currently has no confirmed case.
There was panic on social media on Wednesday when the Ekiti State Government announced that its first coronavirus case, and his American partner who is now dead, spent two weeks in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital before travelling to Ekiti where he was confirmed infected. The report angered many netizens who attacked Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde for allowing a Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) rally hold in the state on Wednesday amid coronavirus scare.
The PDP rally attracted thousands of party supporters to Ibadan and netizens didn’t spare Makinde as they took him to the cleaners, describing the gathering as insensitive at a time the nation is battling to limit the spread of the deadly virus.
Makinde in a Twitter statement, late on Thursday night, apologised for the rally. “I feel obligated to state in clear terms that we acted based on the information we had at that time. In retrospect, it should not have happened and I take responsibility for that lapse in judgement,” he said.
He then explained what the state government will be doing to protect residents. “The state government would set up the Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force led by me and it would hold its first meeting on Friday, March 20, 2020.”
“The Free Health Mission which was launched on Monday, March 16, 2020, will continue. The mission will be used as a vehicle for disseminating information about Coronavirus prevention and control.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 69 of the 769 confirmed cases in Africa have recovered as at Friday March 20, 2020.
