COVID-19: Lagos charges religious leaders to follow guidelines

Lanre Mojola

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday charged religious leaders in the state to strictly follow COVID-19 guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus in their worship centres.

The government spoke at a training and sensitisation for religious leaders in the state on health and safety measures.

The programme was organised by the Lagos State Safety Commission in conjunction with the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja.

Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, said the training was conveyed as a result of the re-opening of religious centres following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said it was an extremely difficult time for people all over the world, when countries across the globe were struggling to keep the virus under control while balancing public health and economic concerns, adding that it was a great disruption in the lives of all citizens.

According to him, it was a disruption that has brought grief to many around the world, financial difficulties to many citizens and humongous changes to daily lives that made religious places of worship shut for close to five months.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this safety sensitization and training programme as regards the reopening of the our religious centres following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Let me seize this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone on the frontline, especially our medical doctors and other essential and emergency workers, who continue to discharge their duties selflessly everyday to support us all.

“I also want to thank you our religious leaders for the roles you have played, praying for the nation and citizenry as well as the provision of palliatives to some of your members”, Mojola said.

The Safety boss told the religious leaders that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu mandated the Safety Commission to put together guidelines and measures to ensure that religious facilities operate safely in various religious centres.

He, therefore, urged all religious leaders present to ensure they put into practice all laid down rules earmarked by the Ministry of Health and National Center for Disease Control, NCDC, adding that the training was meant for them to train all their worshippers.

“I hope in years to come we will all look back and be able to take pride in how we have collectively responded to this challenge, while I do hope our children yet unborn will say political and religious leaders of this generation did a great job as regards the handling of this pandemic,” Mojola said.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Mrs Adebunmi Adekanye, reminded religious leaders that the train was a follow-up to the opening of the religious centres and that the training was aimed at further reminding them of all the criteria government wanted them to fulfill.

She added that the training should be further transferred to all their worshippers on the need to follow all laid down rules of COVID-19 pandemic, in a bid to curb the spread of the pandemic.