The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has queried Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello over his manifest laidback attitude towards COVID-19 prevention and management protocols, resulting in spread and avoidable deaths in the state. Our party is deeply worried over alleged unreported cases of COVID-19 as well as issues of ‘silent deaths’ in the state, which have become scary. The PDP notes that issue of unreported cases of COVID-19 in Kogi state has put citizens in fear especially as Governor Bello’s administration has remained nonchalant and unresponsive towards the matter. The party lamented that the Kogi state government has failed to engage in expected campaigns, public enlightenment as well as establishment of adequate treatment facilities and protocols to guarantee public health and disease management, while Governor Bello continue to carry on as if the lives of the people of Kogi do not matter. We note with pain the death of the Chief Judge of Kogi state, Nasir Ajana, who had to be moved from Lokoja, the Kogi state capital, to an isolation facility in Abuja. The situation in Kogi leaves no one in doubt that Governor Bello cares so little about the welfare of the people, particularly in the face of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. The party therefore urges the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to wade into the situation in Kogi state, as the government of the state has not demonstrated the required capacity to guarantee the health safety of the people in the state.
