Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, has identified COVID-19 as a more greater threat than the insecurity and economic hardship currently plaguing his State.
Lalong in an audacious directive issued in Jos at the flag-off of the state's COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign, gave residents 72 hours to present evidence of COVID-19 vaccination or negative PCR test result to be able to access public offices.
“All citizens of 18 years and above will henceforth show evidence of vaccination or present a negative Covid-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours to gain access to any public office.
“This will also go hand-in-hand with observing all COVID-19 safety protocols in schools, markets, banks, weddings, churches, mosques, ’’ among other places,’’ he said.
The governor added that the directive became necessary to ensure public safety, especially following the discovery of the Omicron variant of the virus in Nigeria.
The directive by the Governor while not explicitly stated, has essentially made it compulsory for Plateau State residents to get the Jab whether or not they want to.
Lalong has been the subject of criticism over his failure to deal with insecurity in his state, and his alleged role in the impeachment of the Plateau State Assembly Speaker, Honorable Ayuba Abok.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, while reacting to the development in a statement, expressed disappointment over what it described as Lalong's betrayal of Christians whom it says are the 'bonafide owners of Plateau State', by colluding with powers in Sokoto to further the agenda Fulani terrorists in the State.
According to the statement, the removal of the speaker who had “championed the need for the Ethnic Christians who are the bonafide owners of Plateau State to be protected from persisted Fulani terrorists and genocides, shows that the Plateau State Governor Mr. Simon Lanlong is a puppet of the Sokoto caliphate”.
“It has become very obvious that the governor has failed to address the issues of insecurity in the state and the only option left for him to survive inevitable impeachment is to illegally orchestrate a sham impeachment of the speaker of the Assembly,” HURIWA said.