COVID 19: Ogun Joins Lagos Orders Churches, Mosques Shut

By Tosin Olatokunbo

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state has reversed his earlier decision to reopen places of worship for religious activities.

Abiodun had earlier directed churches and mosques to reopen today.

The state government is now in tow with neighbouring Lagos state which had earlier taken the same decision over the spike in number of corona virus patients.

The Gateway state, as Ogun is widely known has over 580 COVID 19 cases, according to NCDC record as at Friday, June 19.

The governor said the decision was taken to preserve lives and prevent further spread of the deadly virus.

The events of the past few days have made the government to have a rethink “Consequently, we are confronted with two choices – yield to the demand of those who want the restrictions to be further relaxed or even completely removed, even if this is at variance with the dictates of incontrovertible data analysis and scientific opinion; or tow the path that preserves public health and safety, even if not so popular.”

The state’s helmsman further stated that the decision was a hard one for him to take but “As a responsible administration, we choose life and the wellbeing of our citizens and are therefore constrained to take the painful but necessary decision to maintain the current regime of eased lockdown in the meantime.

“We are consequently suspending our initially slated reopening of places of worship.”

Over 18,000 COVID cases have been reported across the country and NCDC said the number could reach 20,000 by end of June.