Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel has disclosed that his government has installed 3G cameras in all the busy borders in the state in order to effectively monitor every movement into the state.
Emmanuel made the disclosure Saturday evening while responding to a question on what government is doing to check the recent relocation of Almajiri’s from the North to Niger Delta region, during a live Radio and Television programme aired on Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation, (AKBC).
He explained that the installation of the 3G Cameras which are also reflected on the I-PADS, phones of every stakeholder involved in the fight against COVID-19 as well as the Covid-19 situation room has been yielding result.
Emmanuel, therefore, allayed the people’s fear over widespread speculation in the state last week that a truck had brought in illegal persons from the North into Eket local government.
“There was a trailer that brought goats and cows to Eket local government area and when we checked the trailer, there were only thirteen (13) occupants. And as soon as they off-loaded the goats and cows the thirteen passengers were moved back in the trailer and physically escorted out of Akwa Ibom state by security agents.
“There is no inter-state travelling across the country now, so people must obey that. So I want to reassure you that our people are well-protected. If you go to our borders like the Itu bridge, you will see a 3G camera installed in the border.
“We also have the Cameras in all the busy borders like Ikot Abasi, Ikot Ekpene. We don’t take pleasure in noise making. People have different styles of working. The fact that you don’t see me jump on heavy-duty vehicles does not mean we are not doing our best.
“Trust us, we have secured our borders and I am happy that we are getting the results we want. So at this time maintain your faith, don’t fear”
The governor who appreciated the sacrifices of all health workers and experts towards the management of the coronavirus situation lamented the long hours some of them had to travel to do testing of suspected cases because the Federal government has not set up any testing centres in any of the six south-south states.
He explained that the governors of the region are however looking forward to the promise of the Federal government to fix the testing centre in Rivers State.
“The Federal government is supposed to actually help us. With the help they are getting from the United Nations, the European Union, they are supposed to help the states with at least one testing centre.
“In the whole of this region, comprising Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Federal government has not set up even a single testing centre.
“The one we used to have in Port-Harcourt has been down and the Federal government promised us since last week that they are going to bring it up so that we can be going there for testing. As I am talking to you, we drive seven and a half hours to Irua to do testing.”
Emmanuel noted that the pandemic has even caused the demand for the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing machine to be high across the globe, adding that though his government had booked and paid for the machine since March this year, it is still waiting for its turn.
