Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday, warned the people of Bonny Kingdom that their community could be an epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state if drastic action is not taken.
Wike, in a statement signed by Mr. Paulinus Nsirim, Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, disclosed this, while addressing the king and traditional rulers of Grand Bonny at Government House Port Harcourt.
He also urged the traditional rulers and opinion leaders of Bonny Kingdom to ensure that their people understand that COVID-19 is real.
“Bonny is strategic to the national economy, and we have to work together to ensure that the disease does not cripple the economy.
“We have to make our people stop living in denial about the existence of COVID-19 because such an attitude will not allow them to take the necessary precautions.
“The results of samples collected from Bonny indicate that it could be an epicentre of the pandemic in the state if drastic action isn’t taken.
“It’s not something our people should pretend that it doesn’t exist. Something that has taken the world by storm and killing more than conventional warfare should be taken seriously.
“When this pandemic started in Rivers, I raised the alarm that 60% of the cases were from rig workers and had to impose lockdown of Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas.”
“Will I be governor of the dead? Some of us do not appreciate that we have to make sacrifices if that’s going to save our people.”
