The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the
federal government of deceiving Nigerians on the intention of a Chinese team
that arrived the country on April 8, 2020.
Prior to the arrival of the 15-man medical team from
China, Osagie Ehanire, minister of
health, had said the medical experts from the Asian country where COVID-19
broke out were coming to Nigeria to assist in the fight against the disease.
In a statement on Sunday, Yemi Kolapo, national publicity
secretary of ADC, accused the Buhari administration of not being sincere on the
whereabouts of the Chinese medical team.
She said the “lame explanation” by the federal government
that the medical team was a guest of the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction
Company (CCECC) and not of the Nigerian government could not close the “untidy”
case, even with the follow-up clarification by the CCECC.
“Members of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, health
workers, and other essential service providers have worked tirelessly in these
trying times to mitigate the effect of the dreaded coronavirus on human lives
and on the Nigerian economy and should be supported and encouraged,” she said.
“However, the involvement of the frontliners of the
anti-coronavirus efforts, in an avoidable misinformation mess, must not be
treated with levity or swept under the carpet. Since it is clear that the
Buhari administration has exhausted possible face-saving strategies to no
avail, in a matter that had been followed by the entire world, a simple apology
will reassure Nigerians that we are not being taken for fools.
“At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the African
Democratic Congress was at the forefront of calls for support for the APC
administration because of our conviction that politicising the crisis would
neither benefit citizens nor the economy.
“This Chinese medical team saga is, however, a dent that
cannot be straightened with a passing remark, not with the kind of world
attention the Federal Government attracted to Nigeria a few hours before the
arrival of the doctors turned technicians.”
The ADC argued that the health minister had not still told
Nigerians why he joined Zhou Pingjiang, ambassador of China to Nigeria, in
receiving the Chinese team if their business in Nigeria was not more than what
the CCECC had said.
“If we must build a better Nigeria, and stamp out
corruption, in line with President Buhari’s much talked about agenda,
government officials must lead by example and act honourably even in the most
difficult situations,” she said.
“The minister erred in three main areas. He lied,
deliberately or unwittingly, that the Federal Government was expecting a
15-member Chinese medical team, and even went ahead to say that they will
assist the country in the fight against COVID-19.
“He ridiculed the image of Nigeria by going in person to
receive mere technicians from another country in the middle of a big health
crisis, and has refused to tell Nigerians on whose order he acted. He
trivialised a national disgrace by responding nonchalantly to a matter that has
put a huge question mark on his integrity as a senior minister in the Buhari
cabinet.
“Not apologising for this needless messy situation would
send a wrong signal to the world on the manner of governance in Nigeria. If the
APC administration rode to power on an anti-corruption facade, the principal
actors should, at least, pretend to be men of honour.”
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