COVID-19: Chinese Experts For Experience Sharing Only – NOA Boss
Director General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr Garba Abari, has dismissed insinuations that the Federal Government is importing Chinese medical experts to directly take charge of the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.
He said contrary to reports circulating, especially in the social media, government is only working on a partnership for the Chinese medical experts to share experiences with their Nigerian counterparts on the coronavirus pandemic.
Abari, who spoke on a Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) live programme in Abuja on Saturday, explained that the 18-man Chinese medical team was only coming to engage with experts in the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), on how they handled the pandemic in China.
“Whatever information the Chinese medical team make available to NCDC will be filtered and applied to address the peculiar challenges of the country on handling Covid-19 scourge.
“This is a global pandemic and from wherever assistance comes, you cannot reject it. For instance, the United States is opening its doors to all volunteers that will come and assist them because they are also getting overwhelmed.”
According to the NOA Chief Executive; “Despite its fine medical facilities and expertise, US is now saying any form of assistance coming from anywhere that will add value to the fight against Covid-19 is welcome.
“It is not as if the government of Nigeria is not appreciating efforts of its own medical experts. This is the time when Nigeria is proud and appreciating its own medical experts and showcasing its best.
“This is the time that Nigeria is mopping all its competent hands, both active and inactive, and bringing them together with a view to ensure that we beef up competent human capacity required to address the issue at hand,” he said.
Maintaining that humanity is being challenge by Covid-19, Abari stressed the need for everyone to contribute meaningfully in fighting against the virus, adding that the Federal Government was responding favourably towards providing palliatives to the vulnerable groups, including persons living with disabilities, through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Investment.
However, Abari appealed to citizens, who had shown symptoms of the virus, to quickly present themselves to NCDC for testing and proper medical attention, to avoid endangering the lives of other people.
He also urged citizens to maintain high standard of personal hygiene by washing their hands constantly or applying alcohol-based sanitiser regularly.
The NOA boss therefore enjoined citizens to be law abiding by obeying the stay-at-home directives of government, declaring that “together we shall defeat Covid-19.” – NAN
