By Mumini AbdulKareem
In its bid to stop the spread of the deadly Covid-19 virus and protect its citizens, the Kwara State Government has entered into partnership with the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Tailors (NUT) Kwara State chapter towards the massive production of local face masks.
Towards this end, the government has been advised to speed up action on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the NUT for collaborative arrangement for large scale production of face masks to fight the virus in the state.
The Grand Patron of NUT, Abdulmumin Sanni-Jawondo gave the advice in a statement issued by his Media Office in Ilorin.
According to the statement, Jawondo said he had earlier directed the leadership of NUT in the state to write the state Covid-19 committee on the potentials of the proposed collaboration by opening up a workable discussion towards the mass production of face masks for the entire state.
He further reiterated that NUT has the capacity to produce quality, affordable and accessible face masks for Kwarans and Nigeria in general to guard against COVID- 19 global pandemic.
According to him, some states Niger, Oyo and Cross Rivers states have also adopted same collaborative arrangement with their respective states’ tailoring unions with positive outcomes.
He therefore urged Kwarans to imbibe the habit of regular wearing of face mask when going out especially with the increase in covid-19 cases across the country.
Sanni-Jawondo who is also a chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state appealed to the people to support the government to end the pandemic by strict adherence to other precautionary measures put in place and advices on Co=vidas a way of fighting coronavirus in the state.
He implored the state Technical Committee on COVID- 19, led by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi to ensure speedy action on the Memorandum of Understanding being established between state and the Nigerian Union of Tailors to save the state from the global pandemic.
He advised the state government to set up Post-COVID-19 Economic Sustainable Committee to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus on the state’s economy and come up with proactive measures to sustain the economic development that would enable the government to meet its obligations in spite of the negative impact of the pandemic.
He said the proposed committee should consist of experts from various fields and professional callings to develop a framework for the state government in order to mitigate against the challenges posed by the pandemic.
The revenue generation expert further reminded Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq that the state is already in a precarious situation with least allocation from the last monthly FAAC adding that with the additional challenges posed by the effect of this pandemic, the situation would require experts’ opinion to sustain the economy of Kwara State.
On issue of lockdown, Alhaji Sanni Jawondo advised the government to review its earlier pronounced total lockdown of the state order, by considering the untold economic hardship being faced by the masses.
He therefore enjoined the government to intensify efforts on awareness and mandating the use of protective materials such as face masks, hand gloves, hand sanitizers and enforcement of social distancing rules among others as adopted by Oyo and Cross Rivers states.
He appealed to Kwarans to cooperate with the government in combating the pandemic even as he appreciated the governor for providing necessary medical equipment and palliatives to cushion the effects of the lockdown in the state.
