By Raymond Gukas, Jos
As the harsh economic situation occasioned by the emergence of the dreaded Corona virus 2019, COVID 19, the Plateau state government has announced the slashing of political office holders allowances by 50 percent.
Governor Simon Lalong stated this in a statewide broadcast, while announcing further measures to keep the state and it’s inhabitants safer from the disease.
He said now that the Federal Budget has been slashed by N1.5trillion in line with the reality of the times, the revenue accruing to the State from the Federation Account has also fallen drastically by over 51 percent.
“Accordingly, we must brace up for the harsh economic realities and be ready to make necessary sacrifices in the coming weeks and months. Therefore many development projects and programmes will have to be reviewed in accordance to the emerging realities”, he stressed. The decisions, he added, were painstakingly arrived at by the State Executive Council on the strength of the advice of the State Economic Advisory Council.
On the need to safeguard the populace, he announced that henceforth, all social gatherings have been suspended as well as religious meetings of over 50 individuals.
“With effect from Wednesday 25th March 2020, all public servants in Plateau State from Grade levels 12 and below are to work from home for the next 30 days. Only workers offering essential services such as security, health, media, street cleaners and water supply and energy are exempted from this directive.
“In view of the crowds associated with markets, government is directing all markets to close effective 25th March 2020. Only traders selling food items, pharmaceuticals and cooking gas are to remain open.
“In addition, all street trading, street hawking, and begging are prohibited. The weekly Sunday markets at Ahmadu Bello Way, Bukuru and environs are hereby banned.
Social joints, Nightclubs, drinking parlours are to also close effective Wednesday 25th March 2020, while restaurants are advised to prepare take away for their customers to avoid crowding.
“Motor parks are to capture and keep data including contacts of all inbound and outbound passengers as well as adhere strictly to social distancing and mass gathering prohibition order as well as hygiene regulations. Henceforth, all entry points into Plateau State by land and air will be subjected to preliminary tests”, he declared.
The Government, he added, has directed all worship centres to reduce congregation to not more than 50 persons with a 2-metre spacing interval as well as provide running water and soap for handwashing and sanitizers at their entrances.
“We also directed that all funerals, weddings and other social events should have only family members and relations not exceeding 50 people in attendance, while cultural festivals and anniversaries were suspended until further notice.
“All these precautionary measures were aimed at safeguarding the possible occurrence of the disease in the State. Government appreciates responsible citizens who complied with the directives and commend their sense of duty and patriotism.”
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