While announcing that he had taken over as head of the Oyo COVID-19 task force, Makinde described as jobless those who criticised him for handing over headship of the task force to former Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Professor Temitope Alonge.

He said his decisions in relation to tackling coronavirus in the state were informed by advice from medical experts.

“We are all in an uncharted territory so we may not be 100 percent perfect but I want you to continue to give us your support because we are here to work for you and we are here to ensure that no life is lost to this pandemic. Our measures are all work in progress. So, where we see any need for improvement, we will work on improvement.

“Let us keep observing social distancing, good hygiene practices. They told me that the virus itself is fearful such that washing of hands with soap and water destroys the virus.

“Some jobless people have been talking about who I should hand over to whether it should be a Professor of Virology. I am not a Professor of Virology myself. When the experts speak, the people in positions of leadership only need commonsense. They have a room there where they cross pollinate ideas, discuss and challenge themselves and come up with the best course of action,” Makinde said.

Speaking further, he emphasised that he would not declare a total lockdown until the state government had all the needed palliatives and had the data to ensure that the right persons get the palliatives.

“We have been very deliberate in not directing a total lockdown until palliatives are in place. A major challenge for us is the fact that we need to cut out the middlemen, and we also have to ensure that those who actually need the palliatives are those who get the palliatives,” Makinde added.