Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu on Saturday made a U-turn and announced the cancellation of the Easter Sunday church services across the Ondo state amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Initially, Akeredolu lifted the ban placed on the restriction of movement in the state to enable the Christians worship in the church on Easter Sunday only.
But a statement issued by the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Donald Ojogo, on Saturday contained the volte-face.
In it, the government said the ban on religious gatherings remains in force during Easter Sunday.
According to the statement, the government said the emergence of second case of coronavirus in the state had once again, reinforced the need to “deepen our collective efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Ojogo said, “The Ondo State COVID-19 Response Team has reported that the second case, having travelled from Lagos to Ondo State must give the government greater concern to avoid community transmission.
“Against the backdrop of the above, the Ondo State Government has directed the cancellation of the special concession granted churches across the state to celebrate the Easter Sunday/Service. This decision was taken after due consultations with the leadership of the CAN.
“All measures and steps taken in respect of the COVID-19 still remain in force. In particular, government has taken further steps to effectively man the boundaries in the light of reported cases of compromise and breach of the directive to close all inter-state entry points into Ondo State.”
