Determined to ensure total compliance with the sit-at-home order, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has banned the movement of residents, from one district of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to the other.
A statement issued by the chief press secretary (CPS) to the FCT minister, Anthony Ogunleye, at the end of a review of the effects and level of compliance to the sit-at-home order in the FCT yesterday, directs residents to patronize neighbourhood markets, as movement from one district to another now constitutes a violation of the lockdown.
Ogunleye added that market operational days are henceforth reduced to two days (Wednesdays and Saturdays) only, in a week, while mobile courts would be activated to try all violators of the directive.
He stated that motorcycles (Okada) are henceforth barred from operating anywhere in Kubwa and Dutse Alhaji, during the lockdown period, adding that the administration would step up sensitization efforts, especially in the rural communities.
The chief press secretary explained further that the measures became necessary to ensure that the FCT does not witness an escalation in the number of COVID-19 positive cases and to prevent a public health emergency.
He observed, however, that while the level of compliance to the sit-at-home order has been satisfactory at the Federal Capital City (FCC) over the first few days of the lockdown, the same cannot be said about the satellite towns, where residents have largely ignored the lockdown directive.
“Residents have used the excuse of going to the markets to flout the lockdown directives and traders selling non-essential food commodities have also used this window to open their shops in clear violation of the directives.
Despite the directives that residents should patronise neighborhood shops and markets within their districts and not move from one district to the other to buy their essential items in order to minimize movement of people and vehicles across the city, this has largely been flouted as well,” he added.
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