From Sanni Onogu, Abuja
Senator Barau Jibrin, on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to assistant the Kano State Government to contain the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic now sweeping through the state.
Barau, who represents Kano North District, in a statement in Abuja, said that with the noticeable upsurge of the virus in Kano State, there was need for Federal Government to support the state government with funds, equipment and additional testing facilities to meet the challenges of the most populous state in the country in combating the threat.
He welcomed the pledge by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to closely monitor the state.
He noted that assistance by the Federal Government would not only be of help to Kano State, but also to the states of Northern Nigeria and invariably the country because of the strategic role the state plays in the life of the nation.
The senator, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, cited Federal Government’s involvement and assistance to Lagos State by throwing its weight and resources behind the state because of its strategic location and importance to the country.
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He said with the alarming rate of the spread of Covid-19, there was also need to help Kano state.
He urged the Federal Government not wait till the virus spreads beyond the capability of the state before coming in. The senator advised that as it did in Lagos from the beginning, it should extend the same measure of assistance to Kano state.
While commending Governor Abdullahi Ganduje for his administration’s proactive steps to combat the pandemic as attested to by the Director-General of the Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the senator called for federal interventions through provision of financial support, equipment and testing kits.
Barau said: The Covid-19 pandemic is such that no state government can effectively deal with it alone without the assistance of Federal Government no matter how rich and developed such sub-national level of government could be.
“President Muhammadu Buhari should please help to urgently assist Kano State at this point in time.”
He lamented that, if not because of the current lockdown, he would have moved a motion to the effect on the floor of the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
According to him, available statistics show that Kano State is presently the third highest state with COVID-19 cases in the country after Lagos and Abuja.
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