The Kogi State Government says the Covid-19 is not worth the marketing it receives from the Federal Government.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo, stated this in reaction to the Federal Government warning against visiting Kogi and four other states – Yobe Jigawa, Zamfara and Kebbi – as it had been unable to confirm the level of spread of COVID-19 in the states.
The commissioner on Tuesday said the government believed that the intention of NCDC was to drive away investors from the state.
“Despite their unreliable figures, Kogi emerged as the preferred investment destination of Nigeria in the last quarter of 2020. They felt embarrassed and the best way to hit back is to create a picture of health crisis in the state.”
According to him, Kogi was the first state to procure face masks in thousands and distributed to all the councils, as well as the first to set up a team to combat the spread of the virus.
“We set up isolation centres with state-of-the-art equipment. We have done sensitisation more than any other state. So if we don’t believe that Covid-19 exists, we won’t be doing all we are doing to ensure it doesn’t ravage our state.
“What we said and still saying is that Covid-19 is not worth all the marketing going on just for a few to make billions; that we do not have to suffer innocent Nigerians while a few smile to the banks,” The commissioner said.
He said that the cases reported in Kogi were fraudulent as they had given every reason to see them as people not working in the interest of public good.
He noted that the NCDC data was unreliable and inconsistent.
