DAPO Abiodun, Governor of Ogun State says his state needs more time to prepare for the lock down announced on Sunday by President Muhammadu Buhari, thereby shifting the compliance day to Friday.

Abiodun explained that he had asked for permission from the Presidency to push the lock down order till Friday, April 3, in order to afford the state government time to provide relief packages for its people.

Abiodun disclosed this while unveiling three isolation centres established in Sagamu, Ikenne and Abeokuta areas of the state.

“The total lock down of the state will be effective from 11 p.m. on Friday, 3rd April, 2020. This is to enable us finalise the mechanisms for the distribution of relief materials and food items ahead of the total lock down,” the governor said.

“Our Government is conscious of the implications and discomfort associated with these measures. Nonetheless, we are constrained to do this because the available options are limited. Not taking these measures would have dire consequences.”

He however, stated that the interstate and international border closure as ordered by the president would be in full effect from 11pm on Monday.

President Buhari had on Sunday  ordered a complete lock down in Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) and Ogun State, as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.

This, the president would also allow the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to implement effective contact tracing.

As at the time of this report, Nigeria, has recorded 131 cases of coronavirus, with Lagos having the highest number of infected persons  standing at 81.

Ogun State has recorded three cases and the FCT has 25 confirmed cases.

All three states are to effect a 14-day lock down; activating movement restrictions and gaining access to only essential services such as food and healthcare.

To make the order potent, president Buhari signed the COVID-19 regulation into law.

This regulation gives legal backing to the total lockdown of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states.

Meanwhile, the Civil Society Alliance Against Covid-19 (CSAA-COVID-19) advised the Federal Government to use the period of the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to strengthen health systems, radically improve protection for health and essential workers and massively scale up capacity to test for COVID19.