New Telegraph

Lalong: Northern govs unhappy with Bello, Ayade over COVID-19 stance

..seeks FG’s help for N15 billion to rebuild Jos market

Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum (NoGF) and the Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, has said that his counterparts are not happy with the governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello and that of Cross Rivers State, Ben Ayade, on their stance on the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

Both governors have persistently expressed doubts over the existence of the disease even when there have been evidences indicating otherwise. Kogi governor recently went on air to say that symptoms of the pandemic were just advanced malaria. Briefing journalists after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Lalong said the governors have begun to sensitise the people, adding that they would show example by offering to get inoculated whenever COVID – 19 vaccines get delivered in the country.

While commenting on vaccination against the pandemic, Lalong said: “Personally, I have addressed people; I have done sensitisation in my state and I have told them, at the Northern Governors’ Forum that when the vaccine comes, we should show example by being the first to take and they also agreed. We are ready to offer ourselves for vaccination.”

On the northern governors’ reaction to their counterparts casting doubts on the existence of the pandemic, he said: “We have quarrel with some of our colleagues who say they don’t believe in (COVID-19) and my question is if the President believes in it, who else would say he doesn’t believe in it? “The President believes in it, he sets up the PTF and money is going into addressing those issues. He recently reeled out the regulations.

“So, why will anybody say there’s no COVID-19 and you cannot address it? If you don’t want it, personally, yes, but not when you are protecting people. “I recently saw, may be they have not come out to tell you, some of those states that claimed they don’t have it, their people have gone for service and the moment they got tested, they discovered many of those from such states are positive.

“So, if it’s not in your state, why are Corpers from your state testing positive? We must be able to address issues when they are of common interest and also for the benefit of the people to come out and say this is how it is. It’s not about religion or politics. “When you have a claim of scientific research, it is only another scientific research that can counter it. That’s my option. “In my state, just in the last two weeks, I have lost about prominent personalities, I mean we’ve buried VIPs; from Assistant Inspector General of Police to so many other big time people. Those are prominent people, what of the ordinary person who will die and no one will put his name in the newspaper?

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