The chairman of Ahoada West LGA, Hon Hope Ikiriko, has stated that in continuation of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the area, the LGA is willing to partner any organisation or agency.
Hon Ikiriko who stated this during an interview in his office, hinted that since the emergence of the pandemic in Rivers State, a lot has been done in his LGA to prevent infection of his people since his area is yet to witness any index case.
While extolling the proactiveness of the state governor, Nyesom Wike, in pathing the way for the fight against the coronavirus for others to follow, he stated that beyond the sensitization/awareness creation on common preventive measures recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), food palliatives were also distributed to the people.
According to him, in addition to sensitizing the people on regular washing of hands with soap and running water, using hand sanitizers, observing social distancing and respiratory hygiene, the LGA also engaged identified tailors who were mobilized to produce face masks, which are still being distributed to the people at every given opportunity.
He, however, explained that shortly after embarking on the distribution of palliatives, it was found that the palliatives were not enough but only relieved the people momentarily of hunger.
Consequently, he said the focus was on ensuring that the known COVID-19 preventive measures are strictly adhered to by the people to enable them live with the virus.
“On palliatives, we have done a lot so far, and we’re still doing more. We won’t relent because it’s part of why we’re here.
“We lack finance and resources, but whatever any agency or donor can help us with, we will welcome them and partner them to ensure that we check the pandemic”, he said.
Ikiriko also noted that knowing that the coronavirus has come to stay, his LGA is already working out modalities on how to ensure that his people live their normal lives in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They say necessity is the mother of invention. Living with it (COVID-19), therefore, means changing our way of life”, he said.
Towards this end, he stated that one of the key ways of ensuring that although people need to live a normal life, there’s also the need to ensure that they do so without crowding.
“If we say we want to stop any place that gathers crowd, then we must evolve ways of achieving it without gathering crowd. So if you say you want to stop markets, you must disintegrate the markets. That, we must do, the moment His Excellency lifts the ban on markets”, he concluded.
