The lockdown which was relaxed by the Anambra state government has generated mixed reactions from concerned citizens who feel the security agencies in the borders are compromising the efforts of government in curbing the spread of coronavirus.
The SouthEast Amalgamated Market Traders Association has accused the police and other security agents of collecting bribes at various inter-state borders thereby sabotaging closure of the borders and allowing influx of human and vehicular movements into states and increasing risks of Covid-19 infections.
The traders in a letter of commendation to Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra state for his doggedness and resilient approach to the fight against the dreaded coronavirus pandemic, also thanked him for the appointment of Hon. Uche Okafor as Commissioner for Trade and Commerce; whom they said has cleaned up the mess left by his predecessor.
The letter which was jointly signed by the President-General Chief Gozie Akudolu and the Secretary-General of the traders’ association Mr. Alex Okwudiri, contained other demands from the traders especially as it concerns curbing the coronavirus infections.
The letter which was made available to journalists in Awka at the weekend reads, “Your Excellency Sir, we are directed by the South East Amalgamated Markets Traders Association to convey to you, the warm courtesy of her esteemed members. We were further directed to commend your untiring efforts in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic in Anambra State.
“It is on record that since an index case was recorded in the State, the speed of light with which your administration handled the case with the success in the contact tracing as well as the clinical management of the case that resulted in full recovery of the patient within a record time, without further spread, was a clear evidence that you were fully prepared for the pandemic in a ‘no retreat, no surrender’ position.
“It is on record also, that Anambra State remains one of the States with the best record of a successful management of Covid-19 in the Federation. Your Excellency’s dogged efforts in attracting the NCDC to accredit a test center for Covid-19 in the State is another milestone in the battle against the pandemic that is worthy of commendation.This is not a mean feat, as it shows that the NCDC also recognized Your Excellency’s visible efforts in the battle against the pandemic.
“The guided and conditional relaxation of the lockdown in Anambra State, that led to a gradual opening of markets and other businesses is another evidence that Your Excellency not only has his ears on the ground, but also has a human heart, always having the welfare of the citizens as his first line charge.
For this singular act that gave hope and extended a lifeline to most traders in particular and other artisans in general, the traders in Anambra State have resolved to reciprocate the gesture to Your Excellcy at the appointed time through their unalloyed support.
“We wish to inform Your Excellency at this point that all the markets in the State are fully complying with standard personal hygiene practices as you directed.
Running water, hand washing soap, sanitizers and infrared thermometers are all provided at the entrances of the markets which had been reduced to just two in every market for effective check on everyone entering the market.
The use of face masks is very effectively enforced in the markets and the traders remain grateful to Your Excellency for this awareness that has helped in boosting personal hygiene practices in the markets.
“Your Excellency Sir, we shall not end this piece without thanking you immensely for the appointment of Hon. Sir Uchenna Okafor as the Commissioner for Trade and Commerce. He has since his appointment, been working very hard to clean up the mess which Dr. Madubuko left in the markets.
“He is working very hard to reconcile and harmonize the leadership of the traders to once again present a common, strong and united traders leadership that will rebuild a strong political support base for Your administration and APGA. We have a strong hope that we shall achieve this with him any time soon. He is indeed, a square peg in a square hole.
“We are also commending the visible efforts of Dr.Vin Okpala, the Honourable Commissioner for Health, whom we saw at odd hours of the night, in his committed effort in search of the index case.
“Your Excellency Sir, we wish to commend the efforts of the security agencies in this state for their complementary roles in this battle against Covid-19 pandemic. Their support helped in making Anambra state the safest in crime and Covid-19 index cases.
“However, we wish to remind them that in every good situation, there is still room for improvement as we are deeply worried by the happenings in all our boarders with other states which are supposed to be locked.
We want to sincerely inform Your Excellency that they are literally as open as they were before the Covid-19 pandemic, as some security operatives were inadvertently sabotaging the good works of their Command by accepting financial inducements from vehicle drivers and commuters and allowing them passage.
“Both print and electronic news media are always reporting this. Our greatest worry is that most of these commuters, whose status are not known, are coming from the epicenters of Covid-19 pandemic.
If this development is left unchecked, the genuine efforts of your government in containing this scourge will be grossly jeopardized. We are most humbly appealing to Your Excellency to draw the attention of our “Crime burster” Commissioner of Police, John B. Abang to this development with a view to his fishing out these operatives destroying the good image of the Force. C.P Abang, is undisputably, doing wonderfully well.
“While we pledge the total support of all our members in Your Excllency’s battle against this Covid-19 pandemic, we also want to inform you that we are ready to render assistance anywhere we may be needed. As we charge you to continue to fire Covid-19 pandemic from all cylinders, accept the assurances of our members esteemed regards.”
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Police Command of the Nigeria Police, SP Haruna Mohammed stated that anyone who has proof of any police officer collecting financial gratifications at the borders should produce it .
Mohammed also disclosed that the state commissioner of police, John Bassey Abang, has a monitoring unit that investigated allegations of bribery and all other forms of misconducts by officers of the command.
Source: News Prob
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