The Oyo State government has issued a 7-day ultimatum to all markets in the state to comply with its COVID-19 preventive measures or risk a shutdown and sanctions against the market leaders.
Governor Makinde stated this on Monday through his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Retired Commissioner of Police, CP, Fatai Owoseni, during a meeting and symbolic presentation of face masks and sanitizers to market leaders in Oyo State, held at the State Ministry of information, Agodi, Secretariat, Ibadan.
He maintained that the COVID-19 Task Force Compliance team would commence an aggressive patrol round markets in the State from Monday 27th April 2020 and any market found not complying with the State government’s directives on preventing community infection and spread of the dreaded virus would be dealt with and made to face the full wrath of the law.
He added that anyone who flouts the State’s dusk to dawn curfew order would be forced to spend a night with security operatives or made to offer compulsory community service.
Owoseni asserted that “Within the next seven days, they should have a buy-in to the measures that have been put in place in order to curtail the spread of this virus. It has been observed that some of them don’t maintain these things. It’s either they’ve been stolen or damaged in some of the markets where they put them. It is more of citizen persuasion now.”
In his remarks, the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, asked the market leaders to replicate the handwashing samples and face masks, amongst other COVID-19 preventive materials given to them.
Representatives of the various markets present at the meeting applauded the State government for the initiative and pledged to ensure that their members comply with the directives within the specified time frame.
Source: VON
