NMA, CAN disagree over Lagos full reopening of churches

 

The Christian Association of Nigeria , Lagos State , has commended the decision of Governor Babajide Sanwo -Olu to fully reopen churches, saying it is the right thing to do .

But the Nigerian Medical Association , Lagos chapter , described the decision to fully open worship centres in the state as hasty .

The Chairman of CAN , Apostle Alexander Bamgbola , told The PUNCH that prayers were responsible for the minimal effects of the virus in the state.

He said a minimum of 30 million Nigerians were expected to die from the COVID -19 pandemic , but God prevented it.

Bamgbola said , “ By the end of February and early March when this thing started, I had access to privileged information from America that a minimum of 40 million Africans would die from this virus and 30 million of them will be Nigerians . But we serve a living God .

“ Those who say Nigeria is the most corrupt nation always conclude that ‘ one thing they do is to pray’ . They have seen that we serve a living God . We thank the governor for listening to us . He has done well after looking at all the variables. ”

The cleric , however , added that CAN would ask worship centres to keep to all safety measures to prevent further spread of COVID - 19.

But, speaking to one of our correspondents, the Chairman , Lagos NMA Committee on COVID - 19 Response , Dr Japhet Olugbodi , said the state should have waited awhile before the full reopening of churches.

He said , “ I think we should have tarried a little bit and see what comes out of the reopening of the airports. The strain of COVID -19 in Nigeria is different from the one in some countries , and since we ’ ve opened the airport , we may have people bringing in another strain of the virus that is different and deadlier than the one in the country.

“ We should have seen how that goes first before reopening the economy fully. I understand that people are hard-pressed , but there is a popular saying that goes thus, ‘ safety first . ’ I think we could have tarried a bit till about another month after reopening of the airports before the full reopening of the economy. ”