Coronavirus: We’re satisfied with steps taken by Sanwo-Olu to curb spread ― Lagos APC

Lagos State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday said it has implicit confidence in the measures put in place by the state governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu and his team to curb the spread of deadly coronavirus, urging Lagosians “and the general public to ignore the ranting of some alarmists,” including the leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Lagos PDP, had, in a statement issued on Monday by its spokesperson, Mr. Taofiq Gani, taken a swipe at the efforts being made by Governor Sanwo-Olu to address the spread of coronavirus, urging him to braze up, even as it demanded that Lagosians should hold him responsible as efforts to prevent the spread of the scourge ”is very minimal and only needs the willingness and diligence of a ‘commander.’”

The party, in particular, charged the governor to order for large quantities of masks and sanitizers for distribution to Lagosians free to safeguard them from contacting the deadly virus instead of accusing traders of inflating costs of the items, vowing that failure to do so within 72 hours, it would advise parents and other Lagosians to stay at home “unless this governor and government get serious about funding the needful in curbing this virus.”

Publicity Secretary of Lagos APC, Hon. Seye Oladejo, in reaction to the PDP stance, accused the alarmists, including the leading opposition party of the sole aim of creating needless panic, expressing surprise that they were not holding the government responsible for the recent hot weather in the state.

“The Lagos State APC has implicit confidence in the measures put in place by Mr. Governor and his team. We hereby urge the general public to ignore the ranting of some alarmists whose sole aim is just to create needless panic in the state.

”We’re even surprised that they’re not holding the state government responsible for the recent hot weather. They need to know that governance is a much more serious concern than petty squabbles among dishonorable people,” Oladejo said.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus: We can’t afford to shut down our economy ― NCDC

APC spokesperson, in a statement made available to newsmen, said his initial reaction was to ”wonder which of the many factions of PDP in Lagos State does this Gani Taofik speak for,” but later changed his mind to react in “order not to make his blatant misinformation be mistaken for gospel truth.”

“Let me state categorically that those clowns in PDP cannot offer what they don’t have,” the APC chieftain declared.

“Let me recall that the Lagos State government, as soon as the first case of coronavirus was recorded in China, started putting scientific and medically proven measures in place for detection and isolation of potential patients.

”The state government set up laboratories and isolation centers at the infectious diseases hospital at Yaba. The chief executive of the state, Governor Babajide Sanwoolu, was announced as the chief incident officer with relevant medical personnel put on red alert.

”The state government was able to build on the world-acclaimed feat during the Ebola scourge to record another landmark in emergency preparedness. The state government has since set in motion the various relevant emergency agencies since the pivot case was reported in Nigeria and this has even been acknowledged by the international media as novel, responsible and commendable,” he said.

According to him, the state government has also held various sensitization and enlightenment programmes for public education, saying the PDP spokesperson would also need to be better informed that the use of face mask was only recommended for the confirmed victims of Covid 19 to protect other members of the general public.

The APC chieftain, while noting that one might as well be discerning and knowledgeable enough before jumping on any public discourse, declared: ”The issue of Covid 19 is a much more serious issue than for mere political jobbers to play politics with.”