By Banji Ayoola
“My good people of Ondo State, it gives me great pleasure to address you. I had malaria few days ago and was treated. I did get over it; and as at the time my party’s NEC and colleagues called on me, I spoke with one of them who said that malaria should not be just treated lightly, but I should go and have test for COVID-19. The result came out today 30th June 2020 and I tested positive.”
With the above declaration, Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, confirmed today in a statewide broadcast that he has tested positive to the dreaded COVID-19.
The broadcast followed his confirmation earlier on his twitter handle.
He said in the broadcast: “My good people of Ondo State, it gives me great pleasure to address you. I had malaria few days ago and was treated. I did get over it; and as at the time my party’s NEC and colleagues called on me, I spoke with one of them who said that malaria should not be just treated lightly, but I should go and have test for COVID-19.
“The result came out today 30th June 2020 and I tested positive. But I am asymptomatic. I don’t have, I am not feeling odd in any way. But my doctors have decided that I should take the normal treatment and self isolate.
“I believe that supervised home management would be ideal for me for now. So from now I would be isolated and go on with the supervised home management.
“Let me assure our people that as you can see me, there are many of us like this that don’t have the symptom. It is there, you can’t see it. And in few days time, we would conduct another test and we would know the result.
“Let me assure our people that the work is going on. I am here at home attending to files. That is the normal thing I do. There is nothing that would stop the work going on. And I want to plead with my political associates that they should continue with the project. We are sure to win.
“As you know, I am gifted to get through to my destination knowing that I am a man with special gifts. My trust in God to get through this is unshaken. I thank Him and pray to Him for His hand of healing to remain on us.
“Please my people if you have malaria or other things, get tested. So I thank God for the discovery of this on time.”
Earlier, he had written on his tweeter handle: “Today I tested positive for #COVID19. All is well. I’m asymptomatic and have been self isolating. Work continues. Your continued prayers over my well being are most appreciated.” — Arakunrin Akeredolu (@RotimiAkeredolu) June 30, 2020
Thus, Akeredolu has become the fifth incumbent governor to test positive for COVID-19, with all of them recovering and regaining their radiant health after treatment in self isolation. They include Governors Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state, Seyi Makinde, of Oyo; and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi. recovered after testing positive for the disease.
Also, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state is undergoing treatment for the disease while his Delta state counterpart, Ifeanyi Okowa, is self-isolating after his daughter tested positive for COVID-19.
Besides, two other governors, including Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state and Godwin Obaseki of Edo state, who had also self-isolated after coming in contact with infected people, later tested negative for the disease.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria in February, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control said 132,304 samples have been tested.
Nigeria, as at midnight Monday, had 15, 255 active COVID-19 cases, while 9,402 have recovered and have been discharged.
The breakdown of the 25, 231 reported confirmed cases is as follows:
- Lagos State: 10, 310 cases,
- FCT – 1,818,
- Oyo – 1, 372,
- Kano – 1, 211,
- Rivers – 1, 056,
- Edo – 986,
- Delta – 965,
- Ogun –807,
- Kaduna – 703,
- Katsina – 549,
- Bauchi – 500,
- Gombe – 503,
- Borno – 491,
- Ebonyi – 481,
- Plateau – 405,
- Jigawa – 317,
- Imo – 318,
- Abia – 302,
- Enugu – 261,
- Ondo – 308,
- Kwara – 217,
- Nasarawa – 213,
- Bayelsa – 211,
- Sokoto – 151,
- Osun – 124,
- Akwa Ibom – 86,
- Adamawa – 84,
- Niger – 84,
- Kebbi – 76,
- Zamfara – 76,
- Anambra – 73,
- Yobe – 59,
- Benue – 59,
- Ekiti – 43,
- Taraba – 19 and
- Kogi – 4.
Despite worrisome rising COVID-19 cases, Nigeria on Monday further reopened its economy as it lifted the ban on interstate travels, opened its airports for domestic flights and announced plans for resumption of schools nationwide that were shut down due to the rampaging disease.
