By Mayowa Olumuyiwa
Ondo State governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has expressed deep concern as to the height of loose ends in the entry points into the state despite the inter-state lockdown order.
While reacting to the newly detected Covid-19 case which is a Police man who came into Ondo State from Lagos despite the strict directive given to the security agents manning inter-state borders not to allow travellers to gain entrance to Ondo state.
Akeredolu had this to say;
“Earlier today, I got news of another positive case of Covid-19 admitted to our facility in Akure. The case of this individual who is a police officer is unique. He was tested in Lagos but came to Ondo state while awaiting his results. Upon receiving a positive result, he claimed to have returned back to Lagos.
“According to him, he waited a few days in Lagos to be picked up. When this failed, he panicked and rushed back to Akure for treatment. While we appreciate the confidence reposed in our facilities, we do find it most reckless on the part of the officer of the law to risk the lives of others.
”I am most disappointed in the level of porosity of the entry points to the state. The police officer should know better. I have contacted the commissioner of police to double up on securing our entry”.
He therefore called on the Commissioner of Police, Undie Adie to brace up in securing the state.
In a further reaction to this development, one of the the traditional stakeholders in the state, Chief Adewale Omojuwa, the Adetolugbo of Ugbo Land, in his comment with our correspondent appreciated the steps taken by the Governor so far to secure Ondo State borders and prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Ondo State.
He further added, “however, I’ll like to advise Mr. Governor to also ensure the Military is deployed to our borders, especially the Lagos – Ondo and Benin – Ondo Axis. No offense to our Police Officers, but there’s a public perception about their professionalism, which is full of doubt and distrust. It’s believed they are easy to sway, so reading this news isn’t too surprising.”
He further stated, “Let Mr. Governor incorporate the military to join the Police in securing our porous borders and I believe there’ll be more effectiveness, which will eventually lead to the stop of positive cases of imported Covid-19 being discovered in our State.”
It will be recalled that Governor Akeredolu had raised some accusations against the Police Force on their arbitrary permits of some persons who come into the state especially at night.
Some were however of the opinion that this would have necessitated the 7pm-7am dusk to dawn curfew imposed by the governor in the state barely two weeks ago.
