Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has tested positive, less than three
months after his Chief Press Secretary, Onyebuchi Ememanka, proclaimed that there
would be no Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the State.
In addition, the relative “immunity” from COVID-19, which the South East had
enjoyed, was shattered the same Sunday Governor Ikpeazu tested
positive as Abia State took the first position nationwide with the highest
figure for the day with 67 infections.
Sunday’s figure saw Abia State jumping to number 20 on the table of the 35
States with COVID-19 confirmed cases. It now has 83 infections with seven
treated and discharged patients.
Early in March Dr Ikpeazu, through his Chief Press Secretary, has touted the
fact that his State is the only State in Nigeria mentioned in the Bible, and
therefore would enjoy God’s full that no disease will touch “His people.”
According to the Governor, “Abia is the only state that is mentioned in the
Bible. We have a promise from God that none of these diseases will touch God’s
people. We saw Ebola. It did not get to us. We saw monkey pox. It didn’t get to
us. Even this one (Coronavirus) will also pass us by.”
State Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi, in a statement
in Umuahia on Monday explained that the Governor has gone into self-isolation,
adding that the positive result came from a second sample test on the Governor
for COVID-19 by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Okiyi recalled that the result of Ikpeazu’s first test by NCDC on May 30
returned negative and that the result of the second test of the sample
submitted on June 4 “for confirmation” came out positive.
According to the statement, “recall that on Saturday, May 30, Ikpeazu
volunteered his sample for COVID-19 test and subsequently directed members of
the state Executive Council and those of the inter-ministerial committee on
COVID-19 to submit themselves for the same test.
“On Thursday, June 4, the governor submitted another sample at the NCDC
laboratory for confirmation and the result returned positive. As a result,
Ikpeazu has gone into isolation as required by the relevant NCDC protocols. The
Governor is being managed by a competent team of medical practitioners with a
view to nursing him back to good health.”
The Commissioner said that the Governor had therefore directed his Deputy,
Ude Oko-Chukwu, “to act on his behalf, pending his full resumption of duties.
We wish to urge all Abia residents to take the fight against COVID-19
seriously. The disease is real but not a death sentence. Our state has the
resources to manage patients back to good health.”
