The Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, has explained that his principal did not contract the COVID-19 virus at the PDP rally held recently in Ibadan, the state capital.
Adisa in an interview said there is no need to politicise the issue of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The governor is said to have contracted COVID-19 at the March 18 PDP South-West zonal unification rally doesn’t come to play, because there was no known incident of the virus in Oyo State at that time.
“Also, the governor didn’t have any symptoms as of that time.
“At the time that the rally was held, there was no known case of the COVID-19 and after the rally, Governor Makinde actually put out a message to indicate that if he had got a hint of the existence of coronavirus in the state an hour to the rally, he would have cancelled the event. He took responsibility for holding the rally,” Adisa explained.
The governor’s aide also said the case where Makinde was exposed to the virus was when he attended the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, on March 19, in Abuja.
“All governors who attended that meeting were advised to self-isolate and undergo test after one of the attendees tested positive to the virus.
“The governors went back to Abuja the following day and they held series of meetings. The governor had contact with people that are known. So, we should not politicise an issue like this,” Adisa added.
Governor Makinde had earlier on March 30 announced that he tested positive for coronavirus and has gone into self-isolation.
He is the third state governor to test positive for the virus in Nigeria. The two others include Bala Mohammed of Bauchi and Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State.