The Kogi state government has again countered the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) claims on the existence of Coronavirus in the state, claiming that the alleged index case in the state only suffered a bee sting.
Kingsley Fanwo, the commissioner for information and communication in the state, said in a statement on Monday that the index case had been discharged without seeing his test result.
The NCDC had, on May 27, announced two index cases for Kogi. Abubakar Ahmad, the chief imam of Kabba, turned out to be one of the two index cases of COVID-19 in the state.
But the state government rejected the results after raising questions as to how the cases were handled including the decision to manage the patients at the National Hospital in Abuja.
Fanwo accused the NCDC of plotting to announce the third case in the state through unverifiable processes.
“The Chief Imam, an upright and outstanding man who is only interested in the truth confirmed that we have known all along – that he did not test positive for COVID-19 and received no result of such a diagnosis neither did his doctors at the National Hospital, Abuja where he was confined, advise him on it,” he said.
The statement partly read, “The cleric maintains that he suffered from nothing beyond complications from an attack by bees, medical conditions which pre-date the COVIDA-19 pandemic and stress from travels associated with his work. Till he was released yesterday, he was held in conditions which allowed him to interact with visitors.
“The son’s case is even stranger as he has a negative test result to confirm that he is COVID-19 free. Ditto all his siblings who were tested in the days following as the NCDC serially sought an off-taker for the second COVID-19 case which they had earlier foisted on Kogi State.
“Throughout his father’s time in the custody of the NCDC, and keeping with his COVID-19 negative status, the son remained at liberty and was his father’s primary helper. He was never hospitalised and was allowed to go home each day and return the next day. He was allowed to mingle freely with family, visitors, hospital staff and others. Yet, till this day, he remains the second case of COVID-19 allocated to Kogi state on the NCDC’s scoreboard.
“We suspect that NCDC’s lackadaisical attitude may not be unconnected with the knowledge that no infection has been found. Just like in the case of the Chief Imam and his family, let it be known that we are looking out for our citizens and will demand full reckoning should any harm come to her.”
