Stakeholders drawn from various quarters against the spread of COVID-19 in Niger State have raised the alarm of the possibility of more Nigerians dying if governments at local, state and federal levels do not share palliatives to the people.
The Stakeholders, including religious leaders, health workers, traditional leaders, market leaders and media among others warned that for the people to obey lockdown directives, the government must first provide palliatives.
Speaking during the interactive session, Ward Head of Fadikpe, Alhaji Danladi Musa Jibrin, said the government should do its best to ensure that the second wave of the disease does not get out of hand.
The participants at a One-day COVID-19 Awareness and Prevention programme organised by the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria and Niger USAID E-WASH in Minna, complained that during the first phase, many Nigerians suffered hunger and untold hardship as a result of lockdown.
Jibrin argued: “Governments at local, state and federal levels hid palliatives meant for the masses and allowed us to suffer and die of hunger.
“They are coming up with another plan to make us suffer again.”
He therefore called on governments to act fast to save the poor from the impact of the second wave of COVID-19.
He added: “The COVID-19 second wave will consume us, especially the poor.
“The government must act fast to ensure the disease does not escalate.
“What happened with the palliatives during the first wave should be avoided.
“As religious and traditional leaders, we are telling the government to reach out to the genuine needy and not politicise anything.”
Another participant, Hadiza Mohammed Saba, said it will be quite difficult for people to adhere to the directives of the government to stay at home “when they have no food to eat.
“Government is not sensitive to the sufferings of the people.
“Why should people comply with the directive to stay at home when they have no food to eat?”
In a key note address, the Director, Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Hauwa Kolo, urged people of the state to adhere strictly with the COVID-19 regulations to prevent the spread of the disease.
Kolo stated that presently, out of the over 5,000 persons tested in the state, 338 were positive, with 12 deaths across the entire local government areas of the state.
The Director also said tests were conducted on all the samples at the state Micro Biology Laboratory without transporting the samples any longer to Abuja.
She added: “We advice anyone with symptoms of the disease to visit our laboratory to run a test for the coronavirus.
“And it is free of charge.”
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