By Haruna Salami
The House of Representatives has described as “fake news” and “gross misinformation”, the reports that over 50 lawmakers tested positive to Coronavirus.
Online media publication on Tuesday with headline: “Panic at National Assembly as over 50 lawmakers allegedly test positive for COVID-19”, had caused great panic at the National Assembly complex.
However, the spokesman for the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, in a statement on Wednesday, said there was no time that 50 members of the National Assembly tested positive for COVID-19.
“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”, 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.
“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,” he stated.
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.
He clarified that Tuesday’s adjournment until next week was consistent with its Covid-19 safety precaution and had nothing to do with the reported panic within the NASS complex.
The Spokesperson also called on the public to disregard the news reports.
