By Timothy Ojo
The Kogi State Government has come out on Tuesday to flaw claims made by the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, that the states which have not recorded any case of COVID-19, is either due to negligence in testing and tracing or the state is actively hiding the disease.
The state government found it rather offensive that the NCDC-DG has thrown veiled jabs at its efforts and do find it disturbing. Kogi state is among three states in Nigeria that hasn’t recorded any case of COVID-19. The state found the comments made by the DG defamatory.
In a statement made available by the state Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, it partly reads: “What we expect from the National Centre for Disease Control is a commendation of our efforts to contain the outbreak of the pandemic.”
Fanwo emphasises that the state had stuck tenaciously to the guidelines given by the NCDC and the World Health Organisation advisories for forestalling the spread and identifying the cases of COVID-19.
He said, “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.”
The Commissioner said the vigilant medical structures Kogi had made available, had so far tamed the virus in the state.
He added that the state would not hesitate to alert the NCDC if the current situation of no case changes in the state.
“As of today, 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.”