The Muhammadu Buhari government has described as “fake” and “sinister” the report that the outbreak of Monkeypox in some parts of the country resulted from the alleged free medical care by the government in the affected areas.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, October 8, 2017, Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture said Nigerians should disregard the report which, apparently, is being spread by some unscrupulous persons to fit into a sinister agenda.
‘The Federal Government has not conducted any free medical service or care in either Bayelsa or Rivers state, as alleged in the fake report being circulated. So that could not have been the cause of the outbreak of Monkeypox in both states,” the statement said.
“Monkeypox is a virus found only in monkeys and it is rare in human beings. It belongs to the same family as Chickenpox and Smallpox.
”It is suspected that someone may have contracted it by eating monkey meat, thus triggering the current outbreak,” the minister said.
He gave an assurance that no effort will be spared in curtailing the spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, a message accusing the Muhammadu Buhari government of targeting “the population in the South East” with monkeypox has gone viral on Facebook and other social media platforms such as Whatsapp.
“Please call all your family, tell them not to participate in any free medical care by Nigerian Government, they want to reduce S/East population, the did it in Bayelsa that was the result of the monkeypox that is killing children right now. It a virus. Send it to people you know that live in S/East, you might save lives,” the message, which one of our editors received, said.
