TheCable

Ahmad Gumi, Islamic cleric, says Eid congregational prayers should not hold in Kaduna state in order to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The Islamic scholar said this while addressing journalists after Nasir el-Rufai, governor of the state, met with some clerics at the government house, Kaduna.

He said the celebration, which takes place the day after the month of Ramadan, may ruin the efforts made in combating the virus.

According to Gumi, the rate of COVID-19  infections and related deaths are lesser in Kaduna because of the proactive actions of the state government.

He said Nigeria is not like Saudi Arabia where crowd can be controlled in places of worship, adding that the virus will spread faster through congregational prayers here.

“Once you allow people to come and pray,  they are going to troop out in thousands you cannot control. And the point is that we have stayed for  over two months under lockdown. We are afraid that one single day will come and spoil all the gains that we have had,” he said.

“Kaduna is one of the states that has the least infection rates. We can see deaths in hundreds, in all the core-northern states like Sokoto, Katsina, Kano, Yobe, Borno. But Alhamdulillah,  because Kaduna had gone into lockdown earlier than all the states, we have less infection rates than the other states. Nobody can deny this fact.”

Gumi said he, alongside other Islamic clerics in the state, advised the government on measures to take but it is left for the administration to take whatever decision that it deems fit.

He said it is “important that political leaders consult other sectors of the society, religious leaders, traditional leaders, professionals, on issues that concern the state.”

As of Monday evening, the state had recorded 145 cases of COVID-19 out of a total 6,175 confirmed cases in the country.

Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano, has approved congregational Jumaat and Eid prayers in state despite the lockdown.