Plateau Citizens Have 72 Hours To Get Vaccinated, Says Governor Lalong 

Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has ordered residents 72 hours to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative PCR test result in order to get access to government offices.

News Agency of Nigeria

The decision was made by Lalong on Monday in Jos, at the start of the COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign.

“All citizens of 18 years and above will henceforth show evidence of vaccination or present a negative Covid-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours to gain access to any public office.

“This will also go hand-in-hand with observing all COVID-19 safety protocols in schools, markets, banks, weddings, churches, mosques, among other places,’’ he said.

The governor went on to say that the injunction was required to guarantee public safety, particularly after the virus’s Omicron version was discovered in Nigeria.

Residents should take advantage of the mass vaccination effort, he said.

The governor also stated that his previous order to arrest and prosecute those who attempted to prevent others from receiving the vaccine was still in effect.

Local government chairmen were instructed by Lalong to emulate the mass campaign in their own localities.

He also assigned religious, traditional, community, and political leaders the job of informing the public about the importance of vaccination.

Dr Williams Wadzingi, the state’s WHO coordinator, revealed at the ceremony that only around half of the state’s people have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

He called on the state government and other stakeholders to work together to combat vaccine apprehension in the state.

According to the Nigerian News Agency (NAN), Gov. Lalong also launched the state’s integrated immunisation task force, which is led by the deputy governor, Prof. Sonni Tyoden.

Its mission is to ensure thorough sensitization and the consolidation of advances made in the field of vaccination.