The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, has called on the people of Adamawa State to take the issue of the Coronavirus seriously by adhering strictly to the measures put in place to prevent its spread.
Mr. Mustapha made the call in Yola, during the commissioning and handing over of a complete road/Storm Drainage and 100 Solar Street Lights at the Federal College of Education, Yola, Adamawa State.
The SGF said members of the public should continuously put on face masks, maintain social distancing and avoid congregations.
“If it is not necessary, don’t travel. As of today, the world has witnessed over a hundred million infections, with over 2.5 million deaths. So, it is not a joke. It’s real and for every number of those 2.5 million deaths, you can place a face and a name to those numbers, depending on where you are located. In Nigeria, we have exceeded about a hundred and 40 something thousand. We have recorded over 1, 600 plus deaths,” Mr. Mustapha said.
He said, although the Federal Government was working hard to procure the Covid-19 Vaccine, the public should in the meantime use the available measures as weapons to fight and restrict the transmission of the disease before the vaccines arrived in the country.
According to the SGF, Adamawa residents should religiously observe the protocols, so that when the vaccine finally arrives the country, it should meet all alive.
Change of attitude
He said he expected a change of attitude towards maintaining the laid down protocols on the containment of the virus, because he believed that the cooperation of the people would determine the lifespan of the pandemic in the state.
The SGF, while officially handing over the project to the School in Yola, also called on its authorities to ensure the prevention of indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the drainage channels and the unnecessary cutting of the pavements and the Asphalted road.
“It is the responsibility of the college community to own and maintain the project to ensure its sustainability,” the SGF said.
Intervention in executing
Responding on behalf of the Adamawa State Governor, the Commissioner of Works & Energy Development, Alhaji Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and Mr. Adamu Atiku Abubakar commended the Federal Government for its intervention in executing some ecological and road projects in the state, one of which was the project in the FCE.
Mr. Abubakar highlighted the challenges of flooding in the state, which was prone to severe flooding, sometimes worsened by the annual release of water by the Lagdo Dam in the Republic of Cameroon, which often left in its wake devastation on lives and property of the people.
He said the challenge of flooding cut across all local government areas of the state, even though the state governments had always done their best to tackle the issues, but was not enough, hence the plea for more Federal Government interventions in constructing storm water drainages.
“…Particularly from the Airport fence to Bachure that leads to Damilu, then Jambutu and Gero, totalling about 5 kilometres. Secondly, the storm water drainage from Upper NEPA to National Supply, to Mokolo Street, down to Gimba Street that lead us to behind the Shopping Complex, to new Nigeria and then Jimeta Bypass, totalling 3 kilometres, amongst other areas that require such intervention,” Mr. Abubakar said.
He hoped similar gestures would be extended to other parts of the state that required such interventions.
Lateefah Ibrahim
