Easter: Wike relaxes restrictions on religious gatherings

The Rivers State Government has announced temporarily, relaxation of restrictions on large religious gatherings it imposed to check spread of coronavirus.

A statement on Thursday by Mr Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor (Electronic Media), stated that restrictions were relaxed to enable Christians to observe their religious obligations during the Easter period.

It stated: “In a state broadcast on Thursday, Gov. Wike said the directive also permits the Muslim community to observe their Jumaat prayers within the period.

“In the spirit of Easter therefore, and after a careful review of the state of COVID 19 situation in our state, we have decided to temporarily relax the restrictions on large religious gathering, as follows:

“Friday 10th April 2020 – all Moslem faithful should observe Juma’at prayers in their mosques or prayer grounds throughout the state and pray for the peace, forgiveness and the blessings of Allah upon the state.

“Sunday 12th April 2020 – all Christians should have Easter church services with their full congregation and pray to God to forgive us of our sins, continue to intervene in our affairs and protect the state and our people from the coronavirus.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the relaxation on mass religious gathering is limited only to the aforementioned respective dates.’’

According to the statement, Gov. Wike also states that all other restrictions remain.

“All other restrictions, including the closure of markets, night-clubs, cinemas, beer parlours, public burials, weddings, parks as well as the closure of our air, land, and sea routes into the state, shall remain in force until further notice.

“Once again, thank you for your support and cooperation as we work collectively to keep our dear Rivers State safe and secure from coronavirus and other afflictions.’’