Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti, has suspended a security guard for allegedly downplaying the fight against COVID-19.
A video of a retired civil servant who denied his son access to the house after the young man returned from Lagos to Ekiti had found its way to social media.
The man had insisted that his son observes 14 days in isolation as required by the Nigerian Centre For Disease Control(NCDC).
In a statement, Muyiwa Olumilua, the state commissioner for information, said the security man who shared the video online was attached to the Fajuyi Pavilion where matters of lockdown violators were being handled.
According to him, the statements of the security man are not in line with the capacity or preparedness of the state task force to combat the virus.
The commissioner said the official “has since been suspended pending further investigations for acting outside the jurisdiction of his scope of authority”.
“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 Nigerian Centre for Disease Control protocol to prevent community spread of COVID-19 in Ekiti State,” the statement read.
“We implore members of the public to emulate the patriotic zeal of Mr Adeoye, and promptly report to the Ekiti State COVID-19 task force any out of-state traveler who sneaks into their neighbourhood, or places of abode. This is to safeguard against the likely health hazard that such returnees portend for the larger society.
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“The actions or misstatements of the security man that recorded the video which has gone viral does not reflect the capacity or preparedness of the state task force to combat the COVID-19 virus. He has since been suspended pending further investigations for acting outside the jurisdiction of his scope of authority.
“The security man who recorded the encounter is neither a health worker, nor qualified or authorised to determine the health status of the young man. So, none of his actions or misstatements reflect the capacity or preparedness of the state task force to combat the COVID-19 virus.
“Adeoye epitomizes 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 value orientation policy of the Dr Kayode Fayemi administration.”
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.
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.
Meanwhile, the governor on Thursday, received Mr. Adeoye, the Ekiti man in the trending video, who rejected his son for breaking the COVID-19 lockdown rule and traveled from Lagos to Ekiti.
He was received at the Governor’s office, at Ado Ekiti and also honored with an appointment as the State’s COVID-19 ambassador.
The State Government revealed this in a statement on its official Twitter handle with the video of the governors meeting with Mr. Adeoye who was described as self-disciplined and selfless.
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