Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of Kano State, says the state is in trouble due to the presence of Coronavirus.
Speaking on Sunday, May 3, 2020, at the presentation of a COVID-19 Mobile Testing Centre donated by the Dangote Foundation to the state, Ganduje said the delay in testing suspected cases was responsible for the exploding number of infections in the state.
According to a statement by his chief press secretary, Abba Anwar, the governor said the absence of functional testing centers in the state worsened its situation amid the pandemic.
Ganduje said, “There is no doubt that Kano is in trouble. And there is no doubt that we started on a shaky foundation. When samples were taken to Abuja for seven hours and came back again in seven hours, that was the shaky foundation I am talking about.
“We then lodged our complaint to President Muhammadu Buhari, who ordered the establishment of a testing center at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, which after take-off was shut down for some days if not weeks. That was what escalated the transmission of the disease up to community transmission.
“But with the coming back of the AKTH Testing Centre and the addition of Bayero University, Kano, that has the capacity of testing about 200 samples per day now, with the coming of Dangote Mobile Testing Centre of 400 samples capacity, we are making headway in facing the crisis squarely.”
Also present at the event, the director-general of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Chikwe Ihekweazu, was quoted to have said, “I just want the people of Kano to understand that we have not left you. We are behind you a hundred percent.
“I want to assure you that by the time we hear from the findings of Nasiru Sani Gwarzo’s team from the Presidential Task Force for the days they have been here, we will have more solutions that we will use in solving the problems from Kano.”
According to the NCDC as of the time of filing this report, 313 Coronavirus infections have been reported in the state.
