The Ekiti State Government has directed security agencies manning
borders and checkpoints to henceforth carry out rigorous checks on
vehicles conveying essential commodities across the length and breadth
of the state.
The Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, said security agencies
would henceforth search the interiors of all vehicles conveying food,
medical and pharmaceuticals, beverages, agricultural products and
construction materials coming in and going out of Ekiti State.
Egbeyemi, in a statement on Wednesday by his Special Assistant
(Media), Odunayo Ogunmola, said security agencies are empowered to
scrutinise the goods being transported in the state on a bid to look
out for persons who may be hiding to enter illegally and to ensure
that illegal goods are not brought into the state.
He urged the people of the state to be more security conscious in
their various localities and report strange faces and movements they
notice to the government and security agencies.
The Deputy Governor noted that most of the COVID-19 cases recorded in
Ekiti State were caused by non-residents who illegally entered the
state in violation of the orders of the government and appropriate
authorities.
He reiterated the determination of the Dr Kayode Fayemi administration
to protect all residents from being infected with the Coronavirus
hence the need to block all illegal entries into the state.
Egbeyemi said: “This government will not fold its arms and allow some
individuals to sabotage its efforts in preventing the spread of
COVID-19 and safeguarding the health of the people.
“We hereby direct officers and men of security agencies at the borders
and checkpoints to henceforth scrutinise the interiors of all vehicles
coming into or passing through the state in search of the people who
might be hiding inside.
“The Governor has directed that visits to and from Ekiti State are
prohibited except in some essential cases while the pandemic subsists
and the order is still in force. It is for our good and we must comply
with it to defeat COVID-19.
“We also urge our people to be security conscious in their various
localities and report strange faces and movements to the government
and security agencies.”
