Covid-19: Gov. Bello Says NCDC Is Spreading Lies; Insists Kogi Is Coronavirus Free

By Akinwale Kasali

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has asked the Director General of  Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, to stop spreading falsehood about the state of Covid-19 in Kogi State.

The Governor stated that since Kogi was one of the only three states in the country yet to record any case of COVID-19, it found the comments by the NCDC DG to shame the state incredibly distressing.

In a statement by Governor Bello, through the Commissioner for Information, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo, he said it is disheartening that the NCDC DG could potray what is not, labelling the State as a State harbouring Covid-19 victims.

“What we expect from the NCDC is commendation for our efforts to contain the outbreak of the pandemic,” Fanwo, noted.

Fanwo said Kogi State has religiously followed all the NCDC and World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 advisories, both for identifying cases and preventing spread.

He further said: “Kogi State confesses that it is not aware the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria is a one-legged race to see which state can put as many cases as possible into the national incident basket, and even if such were to be the case, the current administration in Kogi State does not play such games with the lives and psychology of its  people.

“The Governor of Kogi State does not believe that increasing the burden on the overwhelmed NCDC and the other agencies cum resources labouring in the frontlines of our response to this deadly pandemic, when neither case nor cause for such has genuinely risen in the state, is helping the country in any way.

“We have also adhered strictly to the various guidelines from, and directives of, the Federal Government, customised to improve both efficiency and efficacy within the peculiarities of our own circumstances.

“While we are not surprised that they have worked for us so far in keeping our state COVID-19 free, we do find it disconcerting that the lead agency in the fight is possibly expressing doubt in their efficacy while simultaneously denouncing us for following her own guidelines.

“In fact, we built our self-assessment app hosted at kogicovid19.gov.ng around the NCDC’s checklist for ‘suspected and high risk’ cases and as at last week it has been visited nearly 200,000 times with over 14,000 completed self-assessments out of which only about 60 presented cause for further investigation which then failed to meet the COVID-19 spectrum.”

“As of Tuesday the 28th April, 2020 we insist that Kogi State has no confirmed case of COVID-19, or any case to the knowledge of our vigilant medical structures across the state which matches the suspected or high risk factors for it. If the situation changes at this very moment we shall not hesitate for a second before alerting the NCDC.

“Convinced that we have not erred in any way to deserve censure from a body we have obeyed without complaint, even when the result has been serious disruptions to our society and way of life, we however reiterate that we shall not capitulate to intimidation of any kind.

“Accordingly, if the latest position is to forward all cases of cough, catarrh, fever and allied febrile and respiratory ailments occurring in Kogi State to the NCDC unvetted as possible COVID-19 cases, we demand a firm and public advisory to that effect from the agency, and not the indirect (and documented) pressure which we have come under this week from high up the hierarchy of the agency.

“We are thus left with no choice than to issue this rejoinder, both for the records, and to avoid being unfairly victimised or stigmatised howsoever the highly fluid coronavirus COVID/situation develops in future.