House Debunks Report of Members Testing Positive for COVID-19

House Debunks Report of Members Testing Positive for COVID-19

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The House of Representatives has debunked the report which alleged that about 50 members of the House recently tested positive for COVID-19.

The Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Benjamin Kalu in a statement issued wednesday described the report as fake news and an unconscionable to attempt to weaponise this against the institution, especially when the source of such strange information is a phantom.

Kalu said: “We wish to state that there has not been any panic at the National Assembly as alleged in the publication, and that to the best of our knowledge, it is absolutely untrue that 50 lawmakers tested positive to COVID-19. The House is certain that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Federal Ministry of Health and the Presidential Task Force remain the most credible sources of data with regards to this pandemic and should be referred to for fact verification before misinforming the public.’’

‘’It is also instructive to note that although the House of Representatives still works five days a week at committee level, it has been sitting only once a week since the pandemic broke and this pattern will continue until the commencement of our summer break on 23rd July.’’

’The scourge of COVID-19 has impacted all countries of the world, including every state, community and individual without exception. However, it is but a sickness and not a criminal sentence on infected people. Therefore, it should not be an offence to be sick or a crime to be infected, and people who have passed through infection or recovery should not be stigmatised for nobody knows whose turn it will be tomorrow. The National Assembly and our leadership have been at the fore of the battle to reduce the impact of this pandemic on the people of Nigeria. At the battlefront, occasional casualties are inevitable, especially when the warriors are not super human. Members of the National Assembly could fall prey to Covid-19, just like any other person.’’

Related Articles