The Kogi governor has refused to acknowledge the existence of COVID-19, while also undermining prevention and treatment for residents.
Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello (Photo Credit: Facebook)
Governor Yahaya Bello has hinted that he may take legal action against the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control if they continue to speak against Kogi’s worsening pandemic status.
The state was flagged as a high-risk destination by the federal government over Mr. Bello’s refusal to acknowledge the existence of COVID-19, while also undermining the prevention and treatment for residents.
The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 also accused Mr. Bello of refusing to let tests be conducted in Kogi and failing to build isolation centres.
“We very much believe their intent was to ensure investors are scared from coming to the state,” Mr. Bello’s spokesman Kingsley Fanwo said in an interview with Daily Independent. “Despite their unreliable figures, Kogi emerged the 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 the health crisis in the state,” Mr. Fanwo said.
He did not immediately say which indices ranked Kogi as Nigeria’s top destination for foreign investments and he did not return a request seeking comments on the matter from Peoples Gazette.
In a clear attempt at muddling of all available evidence, Mr. Fanwo, who’s also the information commissioner, also claimed that the Bello administration in Kogi has done more sensitisation on the disease than any other state in the country.
Mr. Bello during a political rally in January warned Nigerians not to accept COVID-19vaccines, despite having no background as a scientist and lacking any knowledge about vaccine engineering. The governor is an accounting graduate.
