Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

News

Fighting COVID-19 With The Enugu State Blueprint  – By Kelechi Emmanuel 

Enugu State governor, Mr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in a handshake with Stephen Paddy, Chairman Simang Group, South Africa as Dr. Odilim Enwegbara, Executive Vice Chairman Pan. Africa Development Corporate Company Limited when South African Investors working on the revival of coal industry in Enugu paid the governor a courtesy visit at the government house, Enugu.

The Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged the world since the turn of 2020, with every country battling to stem the blitz of infections and deaths that has resulted from this deadly virus.

Nigeria has not been spared by this global scourge, with 4,151 cases confirmed by the NCDC as at May 10, 2020, not to mention the countless economic and social activities that have ground to a standstill just to have a chance at containing the virus.

However, Enugu State, under Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has taken especially giant strides in ensuring that the state stays ahead in handling the pandemic.

With only 10 cases yet, the state is among those with the lowest number of infected. This statistic not just due to luck, but proactive action by the state government.

The ongoing initiative to distribute over 1 million face masks to residents of the state is one of the state’s commendable plans to ensure conformation to the NCDC’s safety and precautionary guidelines.

According to the Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs Cecilia Ezeilo, the initiative is aimed at catering for the health of the people in the state, as well as ensuring the smooth return of socio-economic activities.

The production of the face masks, undertaken solely by indigenous tailors and traders, has also served as an avenue for empowering youths in the state economically, with over 29,000 people to participate in the production and distribution chain.

In addition to the efforts to prevent community spread in the state, the government has also taken commendable action to prevent the importation of the virus into the state, by stringently ensuring the integrity of its borders.

The state has made efforts to close and secure its borders with other states since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Nigeria, and has made conscious efforts to prevent illegal transit across those borders.

These efforts, including the interception of over 50 vehicles by the State Task Force led by Hon. Izuchukwu Onah on May 6, have helped ensure that the state has not had to worry about an influx of the virus through state borders.

In conclusion, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s proactive outlook in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic has ensured that Enugu state has not been hit as hard as most other states, as well as creating employment for residents in the process.

This kind of approach should be emulated by other state governments if the threat of the Coronavirus is to be contained in Nigeria.

Besides, the governor recognised the risks being undertaken by frontline workers and has provided incentives in form of increase in hazard allowance to health workers and doctors in the state.  He has also ensured that civil servants get their salaries early enough to cushion the effect of the lockdown on them and their families.

Governor Ugwuanyi has not just been proactive in his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, he style of governance since he assumed office has won his many admirers even among the opposition parties.

Kelechi Emmanuel writes from Enugu

 

_____

Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng

Copyright 2020 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources. 

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Related

News

Federal government has announced the disbursement of N45.3 billion to the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory under the Nigeria...

News

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is keeping tabs on the new omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16, dubbed “Arcturus” by those tracking the virus. XBB.1.16 is currently...

News

The Federal Government has approved the immediate relaxation of the COVID-19 safety measures and travel advisory, including the suspension of all pre-departure, pre-boarding, and...

News

Former Governor of Enugu state, Chimaroke Nnamani, says Asiwaju Bola Tinubu remains the most successful Governor amongst the class of 1999–2007 set, Daily Trust...

Copyright ©