The Senator representing Oyo South senatorial district at the National Assembly, Senator Kola Balogun, and members of the House of Representatives under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Oyo state have protested the exclusion of the state from the special consideration accorded Abuja, Lagos, and Ogun States by the Federal Government in view of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Balogun, who is the only PDP senator in Oyo state disclosed this during an interview on a radio program in Abuja.
The first-term legislator during the interview wondered why Ogun state was given preference over Oyo state despite the closeness of Oyo to Lagos in terms of proximity and commerce.
He stressed further that it is not necessary for Oyo state to lockdown before being accorded the special status.
“Oyo State should be the place to be given special attention. For instance, the University College Hospital (UCH) which was the fourth-best in the commonwealth of nations has problems.
“The facilities have run down. For me, the situation is a wake-up call to the Federal Government to address these problems. The pandemic will go away but we should use this opportunity to prepare for the future. We are not praying for the outbreak of the epidemic but at least we should also have health facilities that are inviting.
“Why don’t we take advantage of the various interventions and let established and tertiary hospitals like UCH access such interventionist funds that can be used to upgrade their facilities and not wait until coronavirus or any other virus breaks out before we begin to act,” he said.
He then noted that he is working in collaboration with his PDP colleagues in the House of Representatives from Oyo state to write a protest letter on the matter.
“When the letter is ready, I am going to follow it up personally. I will also take up the matter with the Senate President,” he added.
