By Monsuru Olowoopejo
Worried by the different pieces of information making the rounds on Ogun State Government lockdown palliatives, the governor, Dapo Abiodun, has warned that any residents found disseminating information that is untrue would henceforth be prosecuted to end the act circulating fake news in the state.
Abiodun hinted that the act allegedly often done by politicians to score points had constantly become a major threat to peace and harmony in Ogun and his administration would curb any action that could endanger the lives and property of the citizens.
The governor directives came days after it was alleged that the Ogun State government arrested Idowu Adekoya, the lady who falsely accused the government of distributing low-quality or adulterated food contents in its COVID-19 relief packages, and forced her to recant her claims.
In a broadcast on the efforts made by the State Taskforce on coronavirus, Abiodun, on Friday, argued that the lady was allegedly persuaded by his critics to engage in the act.
The governor stressed that fake news would henceforth not be allowed to thrive in the state considering the threat it posed to peace and harmony within the state.
“Purveyor of fake news will be prosecuted by our government because we cannot allow anyone to cause unrest within the state. Many of these disseminators do this for political gains and not for the interest of the public”.
Abiodun also assures residents especially those in border communities that security has been beefed up to ensure safety of lives and property, saying, anyone arrested halting peace and harmony in Ogun would be arrested and prosecuted immediately.
On the palliatives to ensure residents remain indoors which had allegedly become subject of controversy, the governor disclosed that atleast 60, 000 families in the state have received food packages to keep them off the roads while health officials battle to remove the state from coronavirus ravaged states.
He added that efforts would be intensified to get the packages to other vulnerable families to ensure they have access to food during lockdown designed by medical experts as a veritable strategy to flatten coronavirus curve in the country.
Also, he disclosed that the recently commissioned isolation centers would have been put to use but they were awaiting officials of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to give it final certification.
