The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in Oyo State, Dr Wasiu Olatubosun has accused the Federal Government of deliberately neglecting Oyo State in its allocation of special funds and resources to states to combat Covid-19.
Olatubosun, who received an Award of Excellence on behalf of the State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde from the Abuja branch of the Music Advertisement Association of Nigeria (MAAN) at his office in Ibadan on Monday, explained the efforts and success of the battle against COVID-19 in Oyo State were as a result of the resourcefulness of the State government in using the meagre revenue of the State to fight the pandemic.
The Commissioner indicated the State administration committed over twenty thousand testing kits to community testing, stating that the post-COVID-19 health sector would be the best since the present administration procured over ten ambulances for all the State health facilities among other State-of-the-art equipment that have been procured and distributed to the hospitals.
“It is very disturbing when you realize that the federal government has disbursed a lot of money and resources to Lagos, Ogun, Abuja and some other States while Oyo State is being neglected, party solidarity should not have come into an important issue like an intervention to States on a pandemic like this, it is wrong.
“Oyo State has been doing it all alone, the only testing kits given to the State was too small that it had no significance in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in the State, thank God for the resourcefulness of the State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde for looking inward and finding other means of executing much funding with respect to battling the pandemic.
“Only community testing has gulped over 20,000 testing kits, but there is every reason to thank God for our governor and donor agencies, individuals, corporate organizations that have come to the aid of Oyo State, we are grateful.
“The post-COVID-19 health sector era will be blissful as the resources put into equipping all the State-owned health facilities all over the State will now make the sector responsive, the sector will never be same again,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, Abuja branch of MAAN, Mr Fatola Tawab said the body recognised the efforts of the State government to combat against the Coronavirus with little or no support from the federal government.
He added that Oyo State has regained the glory of yesteryears as the former seat of the western region through various landmark projects of the Seyi Makinde-led administration.
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