COVID-19: Remember to protect livelihoods, not just lives, Gov Ayade tells govts

Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, on Monday appealed to governments at all levels to remember to protect livelihoods of the people and not just lives, as the nation fights hard to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the governor, this became necessary since there would be life after the pandemic.

Ayade, said this in a statement by his Special Adviser Media and Publicity, Christian Ita, in Calabar, on Monday.

He said: “Protecting lives without protecting livelihoods of Nigerians will spell doom for the nation after COVID-19 as hunger will be the next deadly virus.

“Globally, hunger and hunger-related diseases like kwashiorkor and tuberculosis kill about 8.4million people every year and so there is more pandemic when it comes to hunger.

“So, we will do all we can to curtail the pandemic from spreading to our state and protect lives too, but protection of lives without the protection of livelihoods is a complete imbalance. There must be a holy matrimony between protection of lives and protection of livelihoods.

“Some of our brothers and sisters depend on daily work. If you carry blocks for a living, the day you are stopped from going to work, there will be no money to feed the children.”

The governor insisted that it was this reality that led to his opposition to a total lockdown and his support for wearing of masks and the observance of personal hygiene.

“We are preparing ourselves for the post coronavirus era when the planting season is just coming with the onset of the rains.

“We have prepared ourselves to be the biggest rice producers in the country with the Ogoja rice mill which is the most professional and the first vitaminized rice mill in Africa, and is currently undergoing a dry test and by May we should be ready to start milling.”