The Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has kicked against another nationwide lockdown in Nigeria despite the continuous rise in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in a nationwide broadcast eased the lockdown and imposed curfew in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States.
However, there have been a spike in cases in most states, especially Lagos in the past few days.
As of Saturday night, Nigeria recorded another 238 cases bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 4151.
Recall that Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu had threatened to lock down the state as he lamented non-compliance of residents to health guidelines.
Speaking on the development, Keyamo said another total lockdown would be counter-productive.
According to him, Nigerians need to discipline themselves to defeat the virus while going about their daily activities.
He added that practicing the safety skills to defeat COVID-19 cannot be perfected if another lockdown is effected.
Keyamo on his Twitter page wrote:
“My personal view is that another total lockdown would be counter-productive.
“Before defeating the virus, we must learn to live with it all around us and practice the skills of avoiding it like a landmine.
“Practice makes perfect. We cannot perfect those skills by locking ourselves up.”