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Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has assured that the state would soon re-open for businesses and other activities as it plans to introduce a ‘Register-To-Open Initiative.’
Recently, some religious organisations expressed worry about re-opening of worship centres since markets which are said to be more rowdy have been operating skeletal services.
Meanwhile, to fully reopen businesses and other activities, the state government is considering conditions to be met by relevant stakeholders. The governor said on Sunday that pending meeting of the conditions, the status quo will remain.
Updating the state on the state of affairs with management of COVID-19, Sanwo-Olu, speaking at the State House, Marina on Sunday said the state government is reviewing how the phased easing of the lockdown will operate.
“We are reviewing and considering how the phased unlocking will happen. If we see huge level of compliance, then it can happen in the next two or three weeks, if not, it could take a month or two months. It is until we are sure all of these players are ready to conform to our guidelines,” he said.
He added that the government would embark on what he described as ‘Register-To-Open’, saying that from this week, work would proceed to reopening of the state’s economy.
The governor also said the government is reviewing other aspects of the economy. “We are at a level where we are reviewing the other arms of the economy. In the coming days, we will be starting what we call Register-To-Open, which means all players in the restaurant business, event centres, entertainment, malls and cinemas will go through a form of re-registration and space management.
“There is a regulation that will be introduced to supervise this move. We will be coming to their facilities to assess their level of readiness for a future opening. I don’t know when that opening will happen in the weeks ahead, but we want these businesses to begin to tune themselves to the reality of COVID-19 with the respect to how their work spaces need to look like,” he explained.
The governor also said the government will visit religious houses, restaurants, companies to evaluate and determine their level of preparedness and compliance with social distancing regulation, use of facemask and other precautionary measures as the lockdown is being eased.
The governor who also through his Twitter handle addressed the public said, “We must do better at complying with the guidelines on easing the lockdown. They are in place for our benefit. They are not a form of punishment. We don’t want to have to use force to drive compliance. We must learn to be self-compliant.
On compliance with the lockdown by yellow buses, Sanwo-Olu said, “It shouldn’t come as a surprise that we are unhappy with the level of compliance by yellow buses and inter-state travel. We are seeking collaboration with the Ogun State government and the police to ensure obedience on this directive,” he tweeted.
He however ensured the state is prepared to open more businesses.
“As we prepare to open more businesses and other sectors of our economy, I will like to announce the soon to be launched Register-to-Open initiative,” he concluded.
