Nigeria is now in its second phase of the easing of lockdown and the federal government has released some measures to be in place for this to happen.
One of the ban that was lifted was for places of worship such as Mosques and churches.
With the continuous spike in the spread of the coronavirus in Nigeria with Lagos state as the epicenter with over 5000 cases, The ban is still implemented.
According to the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Prince Anofiu Elegushi, he maintained that prior to the lift of the ban by the Federal Government, the State government had convened various meetings with religious leaders in the state to come up with modalities to ensure the safety of worshippers in the various churches and mosques in case of a reopening.
“Even before the pronouncement by the Federal Government, we have been having meetings with the religious leaders, we even have one with Safety Commission, looking at the possibility of reopening of churches and mosques. He said.
In his submission, the Commissioner asserted that the religious leaders concluded that it would be detrimental to the overall health safety of the populace if churches and mosques are allowed to open despite the rise in the number of cases of COVID-19 in the state.
‘’We also had one with the leaders of the two faiths and I want to tell you categorically that at that meeting, the possibility of reopening of churches and mosques was ruled out totally.
‘’They claimed that they cannot take such responsibility of ensuring that only 20 or 50 people are praying behind them. As an Imam said, he doesn’t know what is going on at the back immediately he is leading a prayer. He said if more than 20 or 50 people are staying at his back he was not going to take responsibility for their presence.
‘’So in the meeting, we ruled out in totality the issue of reopening the religious houses until we have a clear coast for us to do so. The Federal Government mentioned it, but it never ruled out the state in achieving that pronouncement, so all states will have to look at possibility of doing so in their respective states.” Elegushi said.
He added: “We all know Lagos is still having more figures. So definitely, that will speak to our decision. But the governor of the state will come out with further directives. We will call the two faith together and discuss the pronouncement and I can assure you that they themselves will tell us not to do it.”
Following the lifting of the ban on the congregation in churches and mosques by the Federal Government on Monday, the Lagos State government has highlighted reasons why the reopening of churches and mosques might not be plausible in the state at the moment.
Whats your say ? Do you think the ban should be lifted on places of worship ???