COVID-19: Ayade Warns of Hunger Pandemic, Says It’s Dangerous to Ignore Livelihood While Protecting Lives
POLITICS DIGEST – Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, has warned that since there will be life after the COVID-19 pandemic, there was the need for government to protect not just lives but also livelihoods.
Ayade in Calabar, warned that protecting lives without protecting livelihoods of Nigerians will spell doom for the nation after COVID-19 as hunger will be the next deadly virus.
He explained that this reality was the reason his administration is protecting lives as well as livelihoods in the state.
He said, “Globally, hunger and hunger-related diseases like kwashiorkor and tuberculosis kill about 8.4million people every year and so there will be more pandemic when it comes to hunger.
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“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,” he stated.
He said it was for that reason that he was opposed to a total lockdown of the state, preferring instead to allow people carry out their businesses once protected with the appropriate nose mask.
He stated that COVID-19 will not stop his administration from focusing on its Agro-industrialization drive, adding that the state owned ultra modern Rice seeds and seedling factory was unrelenting in producing rice seedlings at this time.
