The All Progressives Congress (APC) has commended the early discovery of the first case of Coronavirus in Nigeria and the timely interventions of the Federal and State governments to contain the spread of the virus in the country.
APC in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu, indicated that the feat, already recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), shows that the Federal Government is demonstrating a transparent and effective communication with Nigerians on developments of the index case.
“Following the report of Nigeria’s first case of coronavirus (COVID-19), the All Progressives Congress (APC) commends the proactive work and coordination being carried out by the Federal Ministry of Health, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Lagos and Ogun State Governments along with other health institutions, personnel and states.
The ruling party declared: “The feat of discovering the country’s first case within 24 hours and result of test within 4 hours is pointer to the capacity of this government to manage and deal with the outbreak, a feat recognised and commended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at a news conference for an update on the global outbreak.
“In managing outbreaks such as the coronavirus, transparent and effective communication is key and this government has demonstrated this in no uncertain way through delivery of up-to-date and timely information on developments, measures being taken and progress made.”
The APC appealed to Nigerians to be at alert and work closely with the government in ensuring that rumours are not spread to create panic, urging citizens to report suspected cases to the appropriate authorities.
The statement further read on part: “Medical facilities to deal with any eventuality are also in place and in top gear. We call on all citizens to stay alert but confident.
“This is a time when real patriots put in their own positive shifts in conjunction with the government. It is not a time to spread fear and rumour. We call on all Nigerians to ignore people seeking to create panic through fake news. We all should rely only on the official sources of information on the coronavirus.
“Among other treatment successes being recorded in cases of coronavirus, China has shared its treatment procedure of coronavirus with Nigeria as disclosed by the health minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire. Our handling of the Ebola outbreak was exemplary. We call on all Nigerians to remain upbeat and confident that this too will be another good outing for us.”
The Federal Government confirmed Nigeria’s first case of COVID-19 on Friday morning, revealing that the virus was detected in an Italian who came to the country on a business trip.