Ekiti state Governor Kayode Fayemi has hailed a retired official of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Femi Adeoye, for denying his son, who just arrived from Lagos, access to the house without confirming his COVID-19 status.
Dr. Fayemi, in a statement in Ado-Ekiti yesterday by Information Commissioner Muyiwa Olumilua said Adeoye’s actions epitomised the core Ekiti ethos of selflessness, which placed greater premium on the collective good of the society above personal interest.
The governor urged residents to emulate the patriotic zeal of the retired officer and report any out-of-state traveler, who sneaks into their neighbourhood.
This, he, said would help to prevent the likely health hazard that such returnees portend for the larger society.
The statement reads: ”The attention of the Ekiti State Covid-19 Task Force has been drawn to a video clip in circulation where a man refused to allow his son, who just returned from a trip outside the state, into his house until he had been isolated for 14 days as stipulated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocol for preventing community spread of COVID-19 in Ekiti State.
“The task force commends Mr. Femi Adeoye, for refusing to cover-up his son’s travel history and for denying him access into the house without confirming his COVID-19 status.
“Mr Adeoye epitomises the Ekiti ethos of selflessness, which places greater premium on the collective good of the society above personal and emotional considerations. This is the core of the values orientation policy of the Fayemi-led administration.”
“We also consider it necessary to inform members of the public that the video was recorded about four days ago, by one of the security men attached to the Fajuyi Pavilion, where the Enforcement Taskforce uses as its base for coordination of daily operations.
However, Fayemi has ordered the immediate suspension of one of his aides identified as Sola Durodola who reportedly shot the video where he was making mockery of the retired FRSC officer.
In the video obtained by our correspondent, Durodola who is neither an health official nor medical doctor authoritatively certified the suspect as free of covid-19, which was against the directives of the WHO.
The statement gathered, that the security man who recorded the encounter is neither a health worker, nor qualified or authorized to determine the health status of the young man. So, none of his actions or misstatements reflect the capacity or preparedness of the State Taskforce to combat the COVID-19 virus.
” The officer in question has been suspended pending further investigations, for acting outside the jurisdiction of his scope of authority.
“Following the encounter, the young man has been in the custody of the State for the past 4 days, and has since been taken to one of the designated quarantine centres, where he would be for 14 days, in line with laid down procedure that dictates that anyone who sneaks into the State, would be quarantined for fourteen (14) days, at their own cost.
His samples will also be taken for testing in order to ensure he has not been infected in the course of his travels to high incidence areas of the country.