The national coordinator of the presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Sani Aliyu has chid states for competing on which states get the highest confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
Aliyu made these remarks during the briefing of his team in Abuja on Monday, calling on the state government to be transparent about the exact figures from their states.
He said ‘COVID-19 figures should not be seen as a competition between states.
‘There is no shame when a state turns out to have a positive number.
He reiterated, “In order to deal with an epidemic, we need to have transparency in numbers and that transparency is linked to the number of tests.
“If you do not know the extent of a problem, you’ll not be able to deal with it.
“So I’m appealing to state governments to please continue to support the state emergency operating centres, the state ministry of health and make sure that everybody who needs to be tested for COVID-19 in any state in the country has that opportunity of having the test done.”
The coordinator also lamented over some states for lacking the capacity for isolation centre, urging that, “Now is the time to correct this before the numbers start going up.
I’m appealing to state chief executives to please make sure where you do not have adequate isolation facilities to do so.
“The PTF has already put 300 as per state minimum number of isolation beds that should be available in every state.”
Aliyu revealed that some states had submitted less than 10 samples for testing since the beginning of the pandemic and is not encouraging he opined.
The states may be having cases of respiratory tract infections or similar symptoms related to COVID-19 more so that we are intensifying effort to arrest the community-based transmission despite the absence of a record of people who have a record of abroad trips in the state.
In her contribution, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouk said the rice distributed to states contrary to some peoples claim were good and fit for human consumption.
There were controversies when some states were alleging that the said rice was not good for human consumption.
However, the Minister said the rice revealed the National Agency for Food Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has certified the said rice to be fit for human consumption before it was distributed.
She added, “On the issue of rice distribution to the states, the trucks of rice were handed over to us by the Nigeria Customs Service and were assessed by NAFDAC which issued a clearance before the goods were released for onward distribution to the states.
So, as far as we’re concerned the rice was certified fit for human consumption.
“We had an issue in Oyo, which was officially reported this (Monday) morning.
But two or three days back, we have seen news flying that the rice we took to the South-West and parts of this country was bad, and that Lagos has taken its own to the lagoon and that other states have rejected them.
I want to say categorically that those are fake news.
They are not true.
“We had an issue in Oyo, which was officially reported this (Monday) morning.
But two or three days back, we have seen news flying that the rice we took to the South-West and parts of this country was bad, and that Lagos has taken its own to the lagoon and that other states have rejected them.
I want to say categorically that those are fake news. They are not true.
“I just spoke with the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (Fayemi) and he assured me that the one he received in Ekiti and other states is in good condition.
“Let us be very clear on this issue of rice.
We all know that even in our houses if we keep foodstuff, especially grains of that nature in a damp place, they are bound to have a change in colour.
But that does mean that it is not fit for human consumption.
“So, please this is what I can say about the issue of rice and they (beneficiaries) are very happy that the Federal Government is supporting them,” she said.
