Rescind Your Decision On Total Lockdown Of OBALGA And PHALGA, CSO Covid -19 Situation Room Tells Governor Wike

Civil Society Organization(CSO) Covid -19 situation room has called on the Rivers State Governor to rescind its decision on the 24 hours lockdown of Obi/Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas respectively,with effect from Thursday 7th May,2020.
They made the assertion in a press conference on Tuesday in Port Harcourt.
The spokesperson of the group,Karl Chinedu Ugchegbu explained that it is shocking that Rivers State is tightening the screws at a time the Federal Government took the lead to relax the lockdown which has lasted for more than two months. 
The group argued that the planned total lockdown of the two local Government areas will further create uncertainty and panic in lives of those whose only means of livelihood depend on daily hustling. 
The CSO opined that the planned lockdown of the two LGAs raises alot of concerns and issues such as :what are the parameters being used to impose the total lockdown in some LGAs,What provisions has the state Government put in place to ensure aggressive testing of households in other to detect carriers of the virus,what are the measures put in place to sensitize people,especially rural dwellers on the dangers of the pandemic and precautionary measures,How many test centres do we have in the state and effectively are they,Have the Government evaluated the distribution of the food palliatives distribution to ascertain if the number of persons who benefitted from it.

The CSO situation room appealed to Governor Nyesom Wike,to withdraw the planned harsh lockdown order in the overall interest of the suffering masses,lift the lid on areas that are presently under lockdown to allow struggling business to thrive,allow street shops and markets to operate as such decision will help the citizens to meet up with their basic needs and take away pressure and need from conventional markets which has tendency to attract large crowd and consequently unhealthy human gatherings.
The group suggested to the Governor to  create some designated and moderated open spaces,where traders can operate from,with security operatives attached to ensure healthy social distancing,provide common personal preventive kits like face mask,hand sanitizers to all in the state as well as carrying out evaluation on closure of border to ascertain its effectiveness.
The group further enjoined the state Government to carry critical stakeholders such as Civil societies,captains of industry,traditional rulers etc in process of decision making as regards to the Covid-19 pandemic. 
Other members of the group in attendance include Stevyn Obodoekwe,Sebastian Kpalap Co-chair respectively,Green Isaac,Prince Ekpere Co-Secretary respectively,Vivian Bellownu convener .