A former director, Planning and Monitoring, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Theodore Ekechi, has called on the federal government to suspend “non-essential government activities for the initial period of 40 days as a proactive measure to avert the imminent outbreak of coronavirus in the country.”
Ekechi stated in a press conference at the weekend that within this initial 40 days, all schools in the countries including primary, secondary and tertiary institutions should be shut down while public gatherings of 50 people and above including churches and mosques should be banned.
Also to be banned are all non-essential government sponsored activities like seminars, workshops and external trips as well as rallies crusades birthday parties, burials amongst others.
Ekechi further urged the federal government to immediately commence the training and mobilization of all military and para-military formations across the country for emergency response activation.
He also enjoined the federal government to “activate a total review of the 2020 Budget with a view to removing or reducing provisions for all non-essential projects and advise state governments to follow suit”, while urging the government to “effect stiffer, uncompromising controls at all borders and ports of entry.”
Ekechi listed some developed countries of the world like China, America, Italy amongst others which have adopted proactive measures to contain the dreaded disease and said Nigeria with deficiencies in infrastructure, standard hospitals, committed and special skills coupled with “insurgency, banditry and other socio-political cum economic draw backs including the global oil crash, Nigeria, our dear country may wake up one morning to see a disappearing population.
“In all the countries and continents mentioned above, practical, effective and wellcoordinated measures have been put in place for the purposes of providing a thorough counter poise in the fight against this mendacious killer disease called Coronavirus.
“China, with her commendable heights as well as advancement in science and technology even with her heroics in medicine, has been struggling strenuously in withstanding the ravaging epidemic of COROVlD-19 challenge. America the world omni-super power is almost in state of unprecedented panic. Italy is locked down!”
