COVID-19 : Focus on Grassroots Now – Oyo ALGON Chides Makinde
Association of Local Governments of Nigeria(ALGON), Oyo State Chapter has commended the efforts of Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde and as well chided Mr Governor to shun petty politics and bring all hands on deck to tackle and curtail the spread of COVID-19 popularly known as Corona Virus at grassroot levels. This is contained in a press release issued in Ibadan today by the state Chairman of the Association, Prince Ayodeji Abass Aleshinloye and made available to the news men.
The press release goes thus;
“
PRESS RELEASE
FOCUS ON THE GRASSROOTS NOW …..
Gov. Seyi Makinde should be more vigorous and systematic in the government’s response to the COVID-19 popularly known as Corona virus pandemic in Oyo State in order to curtail the spread of the disease. This time calls for critical thinking to mobilize the citizens particularly at the grassroots into action.
ALGON acknowledges the renewed effort of the Governor after the initial lethargy, but we wish to advise that covid-19 is not an urban based pandemic as the commendable effort of the State Government has suggested.
Since Covid-19 has no frontier, we appeal to Mr. Governor to activate grassroots medical and information machinery for prevention and identification of cases at the Local Government level where the vast majority of our people live but with many of them bringing their farm products to urban markets to sell and earn income.
This is one of the ways for contact, infection and transmission of the disease from urban to rural, and from rural to rural areas.
The closeness of Oyo State to Lagos State with the highest number of index cases so far, where Oyo State traders and grassroots farmers engage in business makes the need to focus on the people at the grassroots at this time more important than before.
Meanwhile, there is also a need for the Government to make test kits and other testing materials available at the grassroots level,. This because it is only the elites,the well-to-do people and celebrities in the society that are having accessibility to these materials.
As elected representatives of the people in 68 LGS and LCDAs, with 660 Councillors (in all the wards) at the grassroots in Oyo State, ALGON is ready to cooperate with the State Government in mobilizing our people in the rural and semi-urban areas to be part of this initiative of grassroots focus against the pandemic.
We wish to appeal to our people not to see covid-19 as urban and elitist pandemic. Please obey all the directives and medical advices from the government and its medical team, play safe and be coronavirus free.
Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye
ALGON Chairman
Oyo State
