The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has charged the Federal Government to step up its actions, move beyond rudimentary interventions and adopt more stringent measures to further safeguard our nation from the Covid19 pandemic.
While noting the steps so far being taken, the PDP however expressed worry that the current approach still falls short of the required pre-emptive measures, thereby leaving gaps that expose the country to avoidable risks.
The PDP observed that Nigeria is a strategic international hub and the Federal Government should as such adopt stringent pre-emptive measures by radically stepping up our international ports and border screening as well as quickly improving our internal surveillance and hygiene monitoring system.
The party advised the Federal Government to also go beyond its proposed secondary screening of travellers from certain countries and extend the measure to all international flights coming into the country, given the prevalence of connecting flights and land border crossing by international air travellers.
It also advised the Federal Government to ensure that domestic airlines undertake proper screening of passengers as well as fumigation of their aircrafts to guarantee the safety of air travellers within Nigeria.
The PDP urged the Federal Government to take immediate steps to create more screening centres and lead in providing more screening equipment in all our airports, seaports, land borders as well as crowded places such as schools, market places, commercial vehicle terminals, public work places, religious gatherings, among others.
The party also counseled the authorities to mobilize a more concerted effort against the pandemic, remain open, resist the temptation of false performance claims and keep Nigerians adequately informed on the true position of issues at all times.
The PDP called on Nigerians to remain vigilant, ensure their personal hygiene and follow directives issued by the authorities in the collective effort to safeguard the country from the scourge and stay safe.