There is ongoing pressure to declare Covid-19 in Kogi – state government raises alarm

– Kogi government has raised an alarm over ongoing “unholy conspiracy” putting pressure on the state to declare cases of Covid-19

– The north-central state is one of the two states in the country with no record of coronavirus pandemic

– Amid mounting concern over the Covid-19 status of a repatriated female adult, Kogi government said the state is still free of the virus.

Kogi government said that the state is under pressure to declare the presence of coronavirus as the pandemic spreads across states of the federation. The north-central state is one of the two out of the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that have not reported any case of Covid-19 pandemic. With fear and concern mounting over the coronavirus status in the state, Kogi government alleged that there is an “unholy conspiracy to declare COVID-19 in all states of the federation.” This was contained in a statement by Kingsley Fanwo, Kogi state commissioner of information and communication, who gave an update on a female expatriate rumoured to have carried coronavirus pandemic. “In view of the fact that Kogi state is one of only two states still COVID-19 free in Nigeria and having regard to recent pressures from some interesting quarters for Kogi state to find and declare cases of the disease, we are wary of an unholy conspiracy to declare COVID-19 in all states of the federation,” part of the statement read. The government also debunked the rumour of coronavirus presence, saying “the case (a female adult expatriate) does not fit into the spectrum of criteria set by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for actual or suspected CoviD-19 cases requiring testing.” Kogi has raised an alarm over ongoing “unholy conspiracy putting pressure on the state to declare cases of Covid-19. The statement further read: “The Kogi State Government is genuinely suspicious of the motive behind her insistence, especially as we strongly suspect there are attempts to import the disease or declare fictitious cases in Kogi State. Coronavirus: Rivers governor orders deportation of Almajiris, hints at total lockdown “In view of the fact that Kogi State is one of only two states still CoviD-19 free in Nigeria and having regard to recent pressures from some interesting quarters for Kogi State to find and declare cases of the disease, we are wary of an unholy conspiracy to declare COVID-19 in all states of the federation.” The Kogi government commended the people of the state for their “admirable resilience and a strong sense of responsibility since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out” and promised protection against the pandemic.