By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
At a time when COVID-19 cases are rising in Nigeria, Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, visited the Aso Villa without wearing a face mask.
The governor was in the company of other All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, who visited President Muhammadu Buhari on June 26.
The other governors wore their face masks when speaking with journalists, but the Kogi Governor was without the personal protective equipment which the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has advocated its use when social distancing is impossible to maintain.
President Buhari has not been seen wearing the face masks, but officials have argued that he wouldn’t need it when receiving guests in the comfort of his home.
It is, however, not clear how close or far the Kogi Governor sat with his colleagues, they certainly were in close proximity when they emerged from the meeting with the president.
Observers have said the appearance of the Kogi governor at a meeting in the Villa without a face masks could be a way to further his argument that his state is coronavirus free.
Early in June, the Kogi governor accused the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) of faking the COVID-19 positive cases in his state.
Speaking through the state’s commissioner for health, Haruna Audu, the governor said the NCDC, in its desperation to record a Covid-19 case against the state, made up the result of its index case.
The governor spoke to Channels Television through his commissioner on June 8.
The governor said investigation carried out by his government has revealed that the state’s index case was not COVID-19 positive.
He said the son of the index case whom the NCDC had claim to have tested positive for the COVID19, was not kept in isolation as was the standard protocol for treating cases of COVID-19. He said the boy was seen roaming around.
The NCDC has insisted that COVID-19 is in all the states of the federation.
