The House of Representatives has described as “fake news”
and “gross misinformation”, the reports that over 50 lawmakers tested positive
for Clcoronavirus.
There were publications on Tuesday [Not NigerianEye]
that over 50 lawmakers allegedly tested positive for COVID-19.
But the Spokesman for the House of Representatives, Rep.
Benjamin Kalu, in a statement Wednesday morning, said there was no time about
50 members of the National Assembly tested positive for COVID-19, urging the
public to disregard the news.
“Members of the National Assembly could fall prey to
COVID-19, just like any other person. It is, therefore, unconscionable to
attempt to weaponize this against the institution especially when the source of
such strange information is a phantom”, Hon. Kalu said.
He stressed that, it was necessary to prevent undue panic in
the society “because the above mentioned publication could not be further from
the truth.
“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”.
The Spokesman stated that, “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 stigmatized 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”.
While cautioning journalists to always crosscheck their
facts before going to the press, Rep. Kalu reiterated that, though, “the House
of Representatives still works 5 days a week at committee level, it has been
sitting only once a week since the pandemic broke”.
He clarified that Tuesday’s adjournment until next week was
consistent with its COVID-19 safety precaution and has nothing to do with the
reported panic within the National Assembly complex.
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