President Muhammadu Buhari has broken his silence 48 hours after index patient of the coronavirus was recorded in the country.
In a State House statement on Sunday [March 1, 2020] night, Buhari expressed sadness about the case, confirmed in the commercial capital, Lagos, despite the ardent efforts of the government regarding preparedness and response measures put in place in our country’s borders and beyond.
The main opposition party in the country, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, earlier on Sunday issued a statement calling on the president to speak up and “stand up to his responsibilities” in the wake of the disease in the country.
President Buhari commended the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies whose diligence and efficiency enabled the case to be detected, diagnosed, and isolated quickly, even while swift measures were taken to identify and follow up on those with whom the index patient came into contact.
The president also commended the responses of governments of Lagos and Ogun states to the reported incident.
He called for vigilance on the part of all citizens and responsible government agencies.
“President Buhari urged Nigerians not to panic about the news of this first case of Covid-19 in our country, as undue alarm would do us more harm than good,” the statement distributed by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu on social media said.
“Instead, Nigerians should strictly observe the advisories disseminated by the Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation (WHO), on the best way to prevent infection.
“This information is being broadcast in all available media by the Federal Ministry of Information.”
