Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has said President Muhammadu Buhari is not on a ventilator and is not coughing, contrary to reports making the rounds.
Lai during a Press Conference on Thursday said the reports are all fake news.
Buhari was declared negative for Coronavirus, but several media outlets had gone on to report that the President was still showing signs and symptoms of the virus.
He described such news as an “epidemic” fighting for dominance with the pandemic the country is battling with.
“This brings me to the rising instances of fake news associated with coronavirus. The epidemic of fake news is now competing with the pandemic of coronavirus, and this is not helping the fight against the disease. Instances of such fake news include
– That there are only two ventilators in Abuja, out of which one has been commandeered for a top government official
– That a British Airways Flight was due to land in Nigeria on Wednesday despite the closure of all international airports.
– That President Muhammadu Buhari has been coughing and is now on ventilator.
“Fake. Fake. Fake. It’s all fake news”, he said.
“A section of the traditional media has also been engaging in scaremongering and irresponsible reporting on the disease. It is wrong to speculate on those who are positive or negative for coronavirus without any empirical information.
“In any case, being positive to coronavirus is not a death sentence, as we can see around the world. There is no need for the kind of scaremongering we are seeing in a section of the media. The danger is that this scaremongering can even discourage some who may want to come forward for testing.
“We therefore wish to appeal to the media to be more circumspect in their reporting.
“Gentlemen, we have noted the decision of at least five domestic airlines – Air Peace, Aero and Azman, Dana and Arik – to suspend their flight operations. The suspension is a boost for the efforts of the government to check the spread of the pandemic. Some of the airlines have also announced one form of support or another for the government’s efforts to tackle the pandemic.
“This is very commendable. We are aware of more private sector support to the FG and will be announcing this after full compilation. We seek the support and cooperation of more capable individuals and organizations in order to defeat this pandemic.
“Finally, we appeal to Nigerians not to panic. It is said that panic is our greatest enemy. The Federal Government is determined to work with the good people of Nigeria to defeat Covid-19. And defeat the disease we will.
