COVID-19: Esele advises FG to enforce mask mandate to check spread

Mr Peter Esele, former president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), has advised the Federal Government to enforce the ‘mask mandate’ as part of measures to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Esele gave the advice in Benin on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He was reacting to the federal government’s Dec. 1, deadline for workers to be vaccinated or present COVID-19 negative test results.
He said government should rather ensure strict compliance with wearing of face mask, saying in major cities and motor parks across the country, people went about without wearing face mask.
He said that such behaviour was unlike what obtained in several other parts of the world.
Esele explained that he was not against vaccination as he had already had his own vaccination, noting that government needed to do the little things first before issuing an ultimatum.

“I am not against vaccination. I have had my COVID-19 vaccination.
“But government should do the needful little things first before insisting on compulsory vaccination for workers.
“By this I mean, for example a PCR test costs N50,400, which is about 123 dollars, basic antigen test costs N30,000, which is about, 70 dollars, and yet the minimum wage in the country is N30,000, which is 70 dollars.
“So, how do you rationalise compelling people to go for vaccination, when you have not taken care of this, because in other parts of the world, COVID-19 test is free.

“These little things are the basic steps government should first take to control the spread of COVID-19.
“So my advice to the federal government is to first enforce mask mandate in all our cities.
“The same mask mandate as applicable to airline users should be made applicable to road users,” he said.

The former TUC president further noted that another bottleneck to the federal government’s directive on compulsory vaccination for workers would be insufficient vaccines.
“Do we even have enough vaccines to vaccinate?
“For what I call health immunity for 200 million people, you need to vaccinate about 140 million people.
“So, do we have enough vaccines, even if you say you want to compel everybody to be vaccinated?”

He further advised the government to make enough vaccines available at the various health centres to enable people to get vaccinated.
He noted that the ultimatum and condition to workers were uncalled for if there were not enough vaccines to go round.
Esele said federal government’s ultimatum and condition to workers amounted to “trying to get to the destination without going through the process”, adding that such situation might see workers wanting to resist.

Esele also called on government to provide conducive environment that would even encourage the elderly to want to get vaccinated.
He, however, lamented the bureaucracy and underhand dealings at some of the vaccination health centres.

“There is need for government to come out and look at the bureaucracy at the various vaccination health centres, as well as the underhand dealings too.
“Until government rescinds its ultimatum, I see a situation where the organised labour would want to resist the government on its ultimatum,” he said.
He advised government to rather engage the organised labour and let it have understanding of why government was taking such decision and step on compulsory vaccination for workers.

“Destinations don’t grow society, but processes make the society thick, or tell how civilised the society is or even the capability of a society to deliver to its citizens,” Esele added. (NAN)