COVID-19: Northern region can never be locked down - Governor Lalong
- Northern governors have said that a lockdown in the region is an impossibility
- The governors explained that most residents in the region are farmers who cultivate staple diet
- The governors also mentioned that each state has been left to come up with its own measure to cope with the effects of the coronavirus
Governors in the northern region of Nigeria have given reasons why they cannot impose a lockdown in their states amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The governors, after their meeting on Monday, April 13, agreed that a total closure of borders in the region will come at a very high price they cannot pay.
A statement by Governor Simon Lalong's director of press and public affairs, Macham Makut, partly read: “They (northern governors) agreed that at the moment, each state would adopt the measure suitable to its setting because total lockdown of the region will come at a very high cost since most of its citizens are farmers who need to go to farms since the rains have started."
The governors said that most of the indigenes and residents in their states are farmers who cultivate staple foods and as such, a lockdown will bring about a shortage of food and famine.
Source: Twitter
They went on to explain that since the raining season has started, farmers have begun planting at their farmlands.
Governors in the geopolitical zone said that each state will adopt a suitable measure to cope with the harsh economic effects of the virus, instead of closing its borders.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that amid coronavirus, the federal government had said that its palliatives would be given to very poor persons in the country and those who were living with disabilities.
This was revealed by the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, Sadiya Umar-Farouk, on Monday, April 13, in Abuja.
Moreover, in response to the request by state governors, the federal government have handed over the task of the distribution of palliatives to governors amid coronavirus.
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The new decision of the Nigerian government was announced by Umar-Farouk in her speech at a national briefing on the efforts of the federal government to assist governors with funds.
The minister said: "...we’ve decided to hand over these food relief (items) to the state governors for onward redistribution to their citizens, the poor and vulnerable in the society."
Speaking further, the minister revealed that the government had distributed truckloads of food items to Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states, adding that the gesture has also been extended to Imo and Ebonyi.
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Source: Legit.ng