Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Wednesday extended the dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on residents by two weeks.
The governor disclosed that due to the increasing coronavirus cases in the country, the Expanded Executive Council and the State Action Committee on COVID-19 extended the curfew.
“The curfew is from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. It is extended because of the rising cases of the pandemic in some states. Our people travel to these states and this is a big problem,” he said.
He, however, noted that all the staff of the Grace Cottage Hospital, Makurdi, where the index case in the state was first admitted, were isolated for 14 days after which their vital signs were taken to Abuja for tests and they all tested negative.
“This is because they adhered strictly to the preventive aspects of the disease while handling her case. So, there is no cause for alarm,” he said.
In a related development, Gov. Ortom has reinstated 33 sacked resident doctors of the Benue State Teaching Hospital, Makurdi.
Recall that the management of the teaching hospital served the affected doctors with termination letters few days ago.
However, the state President of the Association of Resident Doctors, Benue State University Teaching Hospital Makurdi, Dr Amina Onyewuchi, in a statement she issued on Wednesday said they had been recalled.
Onyewuchi, who praised the governor for his prompt intervention, explained that following their meeting with the governor on Easter day and his subsequent intervention, the association had decided to suspend the strike and toe the line of peace.
“From the governor’s antecedents with the association, there was no reason to doubt his ability to amicably resolve the problem. Thank God, the governor has ordered the hospital management to withdraw the letters of expiration/termination of residency training issued to over 30 of our members.
“To be candid, since Samuel Ortom came into office, there has never been any challenge confronting us that has not been solved by the governor starting from the implementation of our teaching allowances in 2017 to the payment of our skipping arrears in 2019.
“We know the antecedent of our governor and that is why we tried to use every available means to get his attention when 33 of our members were issued letters of expiration / termination of their residency training,” Onyewuchi stated.
The president, however, apologised to the governor for taken the “in-house” matter to the media, stressing that it was not aimed at tarnishing Ortom’s image or that of his government.
