A group of Rivers State indigenes, under the aegis of Rivers Peoples Alliance, has kicked against plans by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, to deliver COVID-19 items to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.
It affirmed that the COVID-19 items should rather be delivered to the Rivers State Government.
POLITICS NIGERIA recalls that recently the same agency delivered COVID-19 materials directly to the Lagos Government that coordinated the Lagos affairs.
Apparently unsatisfied, the group in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Pius Okechukwu described the action as selective, probably on the ground that the State is being controlled by an opposition party.
Part of the statement reads, “Our state government has been in the forefront to ensure that the scourge is contained.
“Now that the Federal Government wants to distribute items it chose to ignore the state government for obvious reasons.“Coronavirus knows no colour or race, we demand an immediate explanation why Rivers should be treated differently from Lagos.
“When it was the turn of Lagos it was express delivery via Lagos Government but now that it’s the turn of Rivers FG now remembers that it’s an opposition state.
“Adopting selective approach to end a scourge that cannot differentiate between PDP and APC is not good for our democracy”.
On this premise, the group urged NIMASA to handover the COVID-19 materials to the democratically elected government of the state.
