Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, on Tuesday rolled out 50 vehicles for the enforcement of preventive measures to keep the state free from coronavirus.
Ayade, who had earlier promised to provide 20 vehicles to the COVID-19 task force, increased the number to 50.
The governor, who went round Calabar, the state capital to monitor enforcement of the no mask, no movement order, said since there would be life after the coronavirus pandemic, it was imperative for government to protect not just lives but also livelihoods.
The governor said since the state was coronavirus free, his government decided to shut its boundaries and border with neighbouring states and Cameroon Republic, while allowing economic activities to go on within the state.
He warned that protecting lives without protecting livelihoods of Nigerians would spell doom for the nation after COVID-19 as hunger would be the next deadly virus.
Ayade said, “All around us are countries and states with already confirmed cases of COVID-19, Cross River is just at the middle, so we will do all we can to curtail the pandemic from spreading to our state and protect you 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.”
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