The Benue State Government, on Monday, extended its partial lockdown occasioned by COVID-19 indefinitely.
Governor Samuel Ortom, who announced the indefinite extension of the dusk-to-dawn curfew after an expanded executive meeting with members of his cabinet and the State Action Committee on COVID-19, appealed to residents to comply with the directive.
He said the first two weeks lockdown yielded positive results while its extension by another two weeks sustained the gains, stressing the need for the partial lockdown to continue.
Ortom added that all entry ports to the state must remain closed while enforcement would be tightened to ensure the state maintained free-coronavirus status.
The governor emphasised the closure of markets, as well as suspension of other public gatherings to include churches and mosques until further notice while traditional rulers should ensure that weddings and burials ban are not violated in their domain.
He particularly warned traders clustering the roadsides across the state to desist from the illegality or face resistance from law enforcement agencies.
Ortom further announced that no new case of the virus in the state as all samples taken for test from the state had returned negative so far.
Meanwhile the Federal Government, on Monday, flagged off distribution of food and other essential items to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State as part of its measures to reduce suffering in their various camps across the state.
Federal Commissioner of National Commission For Refugees, Migrants, Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed, who made the presentation at the headquarters of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), in Makurdi, noted that the gesture would also help to cushion effect of hardship brought about by COVID-19 currently ravaging the world.
“We are here in Benue to support some persons of concern with food and non food items. As an agency that is mandated to provide care and maintenance to these vulnerable group, we will continue to do our best to make their lives better,” he said.
Mohammed, who earlier paid a courtesy visit to the State Deputy Governor, Engr. Benson Abounu, added that available records in their disposal indicated over 100 refugees and internally displaced persons in Benue state.
Receiving the items, the Executive Secretary of SEMA, Emmanuel Shior, expressed gratitude to the federal government for his support to IDPs in the state.
Shior represented by his accountant, Steven Buba, listed the items received to include, food and non food items such as 355 bags of rice, 250 bags of beans.
Other food items are; 56 bags of garri, 256 bags of Millet, 300 gallons of palm oil, 23 bags of iodized salt, 71cartons of tomato paste and 65 cartons of Maggi.
The non food items are assorted drugs, 1500 mats, 1000 pieces of blankets, 80 cartons of detergents, 80 cartons of bathing soap, 85 dozens of bathroom slippers of various sizes, 800 plastics, cooking pots among others.
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