Covid-19: Again, Kogi Denies COVID-19 , Says NCDC Claim, Fraudulent

By Akinwale Kasali

The Kogi State Government has once again denied claims by the Nigeria Center For Disease Control, NCDC, that the state has two Covid-19 Pandemic victims.

The government in denying the NCDC, says it is unaware of such development.

The NCDC had, on Wednesday, disclosed   that there were two cases in the State.

But the Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Haruna Audu, in an angry reaction, insisted that the state government was unaware of such case.

The Commissioner said “Kogi State, till this very moment, is Covid-19 free. We have developed full testing capacity and have conducted hundreds of tests so far which have come back negative.

“We have also continued to insist that we will not be a party to any fictitious Covid-19 claims which is why we do not recognise any Covid-19 test conducted on any Kogite outside the boundaries of the State except those initiated by us. Any attempt to force us to announce a case of Covid-19 will be vehemently rejected.”

Audu, however, enjoined Kogi residents ‘to take all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the State and give no listening ears to rumour peddlers and mischief makers.

“We are more than prepared to secure the life of our people and have no interest in playing politics with their health concerns”, he concluded.

Meanwhile, Nigerians are asking questions on the imbroglio between the Kogi State Government and the NCDC, querying what  the intention of the NCDC is in peddling rumours of Covid-19 case in the State.

Adepegba Sunmonu, a Social Media User posed a question, “Can NCDC put up a figure for Kogi on its data base without the knowledge of Kogi state government? How did it get it? Is there no collaboration?

This and more questions are begging for answers on the imbroglio between both Kogi State and NCDC.