Residents of Edo state on Monday took to major streets in the state to protest the compulsory COVID-19 vaccination policy set up by the Governor, Godwin Obaseki.
Governor Obaseki had threatened to impose a lockdown if residents failed to follow the directive and comply with COVID-19 protocols to halt the spread of the Delta variant of the pandemic.
He had also announced plans to make it compulsory for residents to take the COVID-19 vaccine and present proof before accessing public places from the second week of September.
However, residents, including members of civil society organizations and students, took to the street to protest the directive, grounding vehicular movement in the city.
They were seen carrying placards with inscriptions, ‘We need security in Edo, not vaccine’; ‘We will resist any form of executive rascality’; ‘Obaseki obey court order’; ‘My body is my right’ as they threatened to completely shut down government agencies/parastatals and corporate organizations enforcing the ‘no vaccine, no entry’ policy if the directive is not addressed.
Speaking at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Curtis Ogbebor, coordinator of the Freedom Ambassador Organisation, said their grievances was over the governor’s neglect of more pressing issues such as infrastructural development and security, rather than COVID-19 vaccination in the state.
He noted that the protest was a warning for him to withdraw the enforcement order within 48 hours, as failure to do so would lead to a total halt of economic activities.
He said, “We have come out today to send a warning and advice for him to urgently withdraw that enforcement order. If he refuses to withdraw that order in 48 hours, we will mobilise to shut down the economy of the state. We cannot fold our arms and watch the act of illegality happen in our state.
“There are issues of urgent concern like security which is enshrined in the constitution that the governor is under the law to secure the lives and properties of its citizenry. But as we speak, the governor is not concern about the security and welfare of the people.
“As of now, no street light is working in Edo State; Benin-Auchi Road is not safe to travel on because of bandits, herdsmen and other criminal elements.”
National Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Student and Youth Association, Osamudiamen Ogbidi, while speaking on behalf of students in the state, said students reject the forceful COVID-19 vaccination. He noted that students would be mobilised to shut down the state if the governor failed to comply.
