…as Makinde suspends reopening of schools, churches, mosques
OLUSOJI AJIBOLA
Oyo State Security Network Agency, code named Operation Amotekun, will become fully operational in July.
Governor Seyi Makinde disclosed this in a state address delivered on the floor of the House of Assembly on Wednesday in Ibadan.
He said the agency was being constituted to complement the efforts of the Federal security agencies in securing the state.
Governor Makinde, who declared zero tolerance for crimes and criminalities, warned criminals and their likes to stay away from the state.
He said, “We are constituting the Amotekun Corps, which, as you are aware, will complement the efforts of Federal security forces in securing the state. Within one month, they will be fully operational.”
In another development, Gov. Makinde has suspended the opening of schools and worship centres shut to contain the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic till further notice.
He, therefore, appealed to the religious leaders across the state to exercise patience, as the Government is still studying the reports of the relevant bodies set up on the containment of Covid-19.
He pointed out that schools and religious houses would be among the last to be reopened.
Governor Makinde hinted that the decision to relax the ban on schools, night clubs and religious gathering would only be informed by science, data and logic.
According to him, “As of Tuesday night, the total number of confirmed cases in the state stands at 398 out of which 279 cases are active while 112 have been declared recovered.
“You will agree with me that one of the areas that suffered under the Covid-19 climate is the education sector. Schools were among the first places to be shut down and will be among the last to be reopened.
“We have projected a July 15 date for the resumption of schools, but that date is dependent on the risk situation analysis presently being carried out by the experts.
“For the same reason, we have held off from reversing our directive on religious gatherings. We saw what happened when a private organisation did not follow the advisories we provided to the letter.
“Over 59 percent of Covid-19 cases in Oyo State can be traced to this organisation. So, I take this opportunity to plead with our religious leaders to be patient with us.
“We are keeping our eyes on the numbers and will adjust this directive at the right time.
“I have repeated, every time, I have had an opportunity that our response has been based on science, data and logic. We have been careful to ensure that our response to this pandemic does not create more problems than the pandemic itself.”