Nigeria: Bauchi governor in self-isolation following contact with Atiku
Nigerian Governor self-isolates following contact with Atiku’s son
Governor of Bauchi State, North-East Nigeria is on self-isolation following his meeting with Mohammed Atiku Abubakar, son of the former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar.
Mr. Mohammed Atiku tested positive of COVID-19 and is being hospitalised at a teaching hospital in Gwagwalada, Abuja, the nation’s capital.
A statement by Bauchi State Government on Monday notified the general public that the Governor has decided to self-isolate himself.
In Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari’s chief of staff, Abba Kyari, raised an urgent public health alarm to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, informing him that some Nigerian lawmakers refused to undergo coronavirus screening at the airport.
Mr Kyari, in a letter to Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila on March 21, said the minister of health had drawn his attention to repeated violation of screening procedure at the nation’s airports.
“As you are aware, these airport screenings are our primary line of defence and refusal by any citizen to subject to these tests is a threat to our nation,” the chief of staff wrote.
The letter surfaced on social media Monday morning, although it was unclear who first posted it.
Kyari admonished Gbajabiamila to immediately rein in the excesses of federal lawmakers and ask all those who have refused to submit to medical test for COVID-19 to report themselves at the screening centres across the country.
The letter did not specifically name the lawmakers that declined screening upon returning from a foreign trip.
As at Monday, Nigeria has 35 cases of COVID-19 infections with health officials warning citizens to maintain social distancing and isolate themselves if they had recently visited places with high number of infections.