A group in Rivers state under the aegis of Rivers Peoples Alliance has condemned plans by Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, to deliver COVID-19 items to the University of Portharcourt Teaching Hospital instead of the Rivers State Government.
Recall that recently, the same agency delivered COVID-19 materials directly to the Lagos Government that coordinated the Lagos affairs, who then sent same to the LUTH.
Peeved by this development, the group in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Pius Okechukwu described the action as selective because Rivers is being controlled by an opposition party.
In the statement, the group alleged that”our state government has been in the forefront to ensure that the scourge is contained.
“Now that a Federal Government Agency wants to distribute items, it choose to ignore the state government for obvious reasons and deal directly with the teaching hospital, against what it did in Lagos.
“Coronavirus knows no colour or race, we demand an immediate explanation why Rivers should be treated differently from Lagos.
“When it was the turn of Lagos it was express delivery via Lagos Government but now that it’s the turn of Rivers, the FG now remembers that it’s an opposition state and would go directly to its crony.
“Adopting selective approach to end a scourge that cannot differentiate between political parties, race and religion is not good for our democracy.”
The statement added; “NIMASA should retrace its plan to handover materials to another body when there’s a democratically elected Government in Rivers State.
“All the agencies of government ( Federal, State or Local Govt) should work in tandem to get best result.”
