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| President Muhammadu Buhari |
With the declaration by the Health minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire that he could not account for the whereabouts of doctor brought in to prevent the spread of covid-19 pandemic, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Federal Government to ease the concern by telling Nigerians what has become of them.
Giving
the Federal Government a 48-hour ultimatum to unveil the whereabouts of the
Chinese medical team it brought into the country in defiance of disapprovals by
Nigerian’s medical team and professionals, the PDP in a statement by its National
Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan said, “the minister’s statement had
heightened apprehensions in the public space that the Chinese team, whose
identity and activities have been shrouded in secrecy, might have been brought
in by a certain cabal for another purpose outside the general public good.”
The PDP described as suspicious, creepy and weird
that the minister of health, who had repeatedly assured that the Chinese were
brought to render medical services and trainings; and even went personally to
receive them at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja on April 8,
2020; in an elaborately publicized event, can no longer account for the team.
Full text of the PDP statement reads:
May 16, 2020
Press Statement
COVID-19: PDP Gives FG 48-Hour To Declare Chinese
Doctors’ Whereabouts.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has given the All
Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government a 48-hour ultimatum to
declare the whereabouts of the Chinese medical team it brought in purportedly
to assist in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in our
country.
PDP’s position is predicated on the alarming
declaration by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, that he cannot
account for the whereabouts of the Chinese team, who were brought into our
country from the epicenter of the pandemic, despite repeated warnings and
disapprovals by our medical experts and professional bodies.
More so, the minister’s statement had heightened
apprehensions in the public space that the Chinese team, whose identity and
activities have been shrouded in secrecy, might have been brought in by a
certain cabal for another purpose outside the general public good.
The party described as suspicious, creepy and weird
that the minister of health, who had repeatedly assured that the Chinese were
brought to render medical services and trainings; and even went personally to
receive them at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja on April 8,
2020; in an elaborately publicized event, can no longer account for the team.
The PDP recalls how officials of the APC-led
administration had vehemently defended the invitation of the Chinese team and
offered them full state protocol upon arrival, only to now turn around to
disclaim the supposed experts, deny involvement with them and even forbid
Nigerians from enquiring about their whereabouts.
Our party is worried that the APC-led Federal
Government is being economical with the truth, with its officials playing
politics with the lives of our citizens and health safety of our nation.
The PDP holds that government’s inability to account
for the Chinese team amounts to direct betrayal of public trust, which has
heightened fears of conspiracies by certain unpatriotic interests in the APC
and its administration to compromise the health architecture of our nation and
expose our citizens to danger.
Nigerians can recall how the Federal Government had
failed to respond to demands by our party and other well-meaning Nigerians for
the particulars of the members of the team, their medical status, scope of
operation, detailed itinerary within our country as well as the safety of the
equipment they brought into our nation.
Our party had expressed worry over scary reports of
escalation of the scourge in certain countries reportedly after the arrival of
Chinese medical personnel in those countries and insisted that the APC
administration should be held responsible should there be any sudden upsurge in
COVID-19 infection and deaths in our country, with the arrival of the said
Chinese medical team.
We invite Nigerians to note that whereas our
nation’s COVID-19 data, upon the arrival of the Chinese team in April, stood at
254 confirmed cases with 44 successfully treated by our doctors and 6 deaths,
which reportedly had other underlining ailments.
Today, the data stands at no less than 5,450 cases
and 171 deaths.
Our party therefore insists that the PTF on COVID-19
should immediately come out with the truth and provide explanations on the
whereabouts of the team in the next 48 hours so as to douse the tension in the
country.
The PDP however urged Nigerians to remain vigilant
while intensifying personal and public health safety strategies at this
critical time.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
National Publicity Secretary
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