By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr Rufus Ebegba has cautioned Nigerians to abide by the stay at home directive of the Federal Government or face the consequences.
Ebegba stated this in a statement where he noted with dismay the flagrant abuse of the stay at home directives of the Federal Government as part of efforts to curb and eliminate the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
Dr Ebegba said this pandemic is now spreading into communities and this is becoming alarming as community spread of the disease will be difficult to trace and manage due to the nature of some communities in the country.
“This Virus has started transmitting into communities and this is going to be bad for us as a nation, if it is not properly managed and it can only be managed with the cooperation of the citizens.
The DG/CEO hinted that Community spread of this Virus is dangerous as contact tracing will be difficult and some people with the disease do not show any immediate symptoms which will in turn cause further spreading of the virus, spelling doom for the country.
“We need the cooperation of every individual in other to eliminate this harmful Biological Agent.
“The President has given directives and it is the duty of every Nigerian to do his/her part by following the directive of staying at home, maintaining social distance and abiding by other hygienic practices”.
“When everyone is at home and social distance is maintained, the Virus will stop spreading and cases will drastically reduced” he said.
“COVID-19 is in battle with humanity but our collective will, commitment and faithfulness to directives will go a long way for us to over come this invisible scourge that has threatened our existence”.
He appealed to Nigerians to endure and be patient with government that is doing everything possible to ensure that the people are safe and their welfare are taken care of.
“Nigerians should ensure they keep abiding by the safety precautionary measures in other not to contact the novel virus as there is no cure and the only way to stop the spread is for everyone to fight in unity”.
He said the NBMA is in synergy with relevant Agencies in ensuring that efforts are being made to combat the pandemic as all hands are on deck to ensure that COVID-19 is contained and eliminated in Nigeria.
