Monday Ubani, a former 2nd Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), on Friday said he is deeply disappointed by the
utterances of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state over the handling
of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
Ubani, in a chat with Daily Independent, said rather than be an
ambassador to Nigerian youths, the governor is embarrassing them
through his utterances and actions.
The governor in a recent interview had said the state has
developed an application that residents can use to ascertain
whether persons with symptoms of coronavirus should report for
testing.
According to the governor “So far, we have established about
three isolation centres in the state. As God would have it, we have
not recorded any issue. What we did was to develop an app that we
launched and ensured that all citizens in Kogi State have access to
that particular app.
“We carry out serious sensitisation and whoever is exhibiting
any symptom, if you just simply log on to that app and follow the
simple instruction, you will know whether you should come for any
test or make any adverse report.”
However, Ubani who said it is appalling that the governor has
not made any provison because the state has not recorded a single
case also wondered if the application mentioned by the governor has
been approved by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
“I see such a pronouncement from an executive governor of a
state in these trying times as statement that doesn’t have any
logic and credibility. It is just appalling. That application he
mentioned that he is using to test the status of the citizens has
not been approved by the NCDC as being accurate”.
“Also, for the fact that I also heard that he has not made any
provision at all for any patient because nobody in the state has
tested positive, I think that there is something fundamentally
wrong somewhere”.
“ It is a very huge disappointment for such a state governor at
this critical time when people are making arrangements for some of
the unanticipated consequences of this pandemic. That a governor is
saying he has not put any structure in place at all in the state is
utterly shocking”.
“I think it is just a comedy on his part, and that it is coming
from a governor everywhere places so much hope on in terms of the
fact that based on his age, he is one of those people have been
saying he is representing young Nigerians in government. We have
been having so many old men running Nigeria and now that we have a
young man like the Kogi governor, I don’t think he is representing
the interest of young Nigerians very well. Rather than representing
the youths of Nigeria, I think he is embarrassing them”.
“It is very shocking. If those running around him, his aides and
advisers cannot be bold enough to tell him the truth, those of us
who are not in anyway his loyalists or his friends can be bold
enough to tell him that we he said is an abomination and something
that shouldn’t be heard from any serious-minded governor in 21st
century”.
“That he has not made any arrangement because he has not tested
anyone positive in Kogi is not something a serious government
should make as a pronouncement. It is very appalling and a totally
embarrassing statement” Ubani said.
Monday Ubani, a former 2nd Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), on Friday said he is deeply disappointed by the
utterances of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state over the handling
of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
Ubani, in a chat with Daily Independent, said rather than be an
ambassador to Nigerian youths, the governor is embarrassing them
through his utterances and actions.
The governor in a recent interview had said the state has
developed an application that residents can use to ascertain
whether persons with symptoms of coronavirus should report for
testing.
According to the governor “So far, we have established about
three isolation centres in the state. As God would have it, we have
not recorded any issue. What we did was to develop an app that we
launched and ensured that all citizens in Kogi State have access to
that particular app.
“We carry out serious sensitisation and whoever is exhibiting
any symptom, if you just simply log on to that app and follow the
simple instruction, you will know whether you should come for any
test or make any adverse report.”
However, Ubani who said it is appalling that the governor has
not made any provison because the state has not recorded a single
case also wondered if the application mentioned by the governor has
been approved by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
“I see such a pronouncement from an executive governor of a
state in these trying times as statement that doesn’t have any
logic and credibility. It is just appalling. That application he
mentioned that he is using to test the status of the citizens has
not been approved by the NCDC as being accurate”.
“Also, for the fact that I also heard that he has not made any
provision at all for any patient because nobody in the state has
tested positive, I think that there is something fundamentally
wrong somewhere”.
“ It is a very huge disappointment for such a state governor at
this critical time when people are making arrangements for some of
the unanticipated consequences of this pandemic. That a governor is
saying he has not put any structure in place at all in the state is
utterly shocking”.
“I think it is just a comedy on his part, and that it is coming
from a governor everywhere places so much hope on in terms of the
fact that based on his age, he is one of those people have been
saying he is representing young Nigerians in government. We have
been having so many old men running Nigeria and now that we have a
young man like the Kogi governor, I don’t think he is representing
the interest of young Nigerians very well. Rather than representing
the youths of Nigeria, I think he is embarrassing them”.
“It is very shocking. If those running around him, his aides and
advisers cannot be bold enough to tell him the truth, those of us
who are not in anyway his loyalists or his friends can be bold
enough to tell him that we he said is an abomination and something
that shouldn’t be heard from any serious-minded governor in 21st
century”.
“That he has not made any arrangement because he has not tested
anyone positive in Kogi is not something a serious government
should make as a pronouncement. It is very appalling and a totally
embarrassing statement” Ubani said.