Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has lashed out at the federal government for politicising the fight against the spread of Coronavirus in the country.
In a state-wide broadcast on Sunday, Wike described the selective support to states by the federal government as unfortunate, while condemning the lack of financial aid to Rivers state.
This is coming after the federal government donated N10 billion to the Lagos State Government to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
The governor noted that Rivers State despite being the country’s oil and gas hub, has not received any assistance from the federal government. He also accused the federal government of endangering the lives of Rivers citizens by granting expatriates access to the state.
“No state should be seen as more important than the other. This is a federal republic. I don’t know if a state needs to record over 50 infected cases before it could get help. He queried
On the issue of the closure of markets, He said “All markets in the state except Oil Mill Market, Mbiama Market and Slaughter Market at Trans-Amadi shall be open on Tuesday April 7 and Wednesday April 8, 2020 from 7am to 12noon. After those two days the markets will remain closed. This is to enable residents shop for Easter and also replenish their stock of foodstuffs.
The news was greeted with wild jubilations from residents of the state, whom for long have been calling on the governor to reopen the markets to ease the hardship the closure has caused.
Lastly, Wike thanked those who have contributed to the fight against COVID-19 and urged religious leaders to continue praying for the state.
