Makinde didn’t contract COVID-19 at Ibadan PDP rally’

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Oyo State, Taiwo Adisa, has said Governor Seyi Makinde, did not contract COVID-19 at a zonal rally of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ibadan, on March 18.
There were insinuations that the governor contracted the Virus at the party’s unification rally.
But Adisa, during a programme on Silverbird Television, on Tuesday, warned the opposition party members against politicising the issue.
He said, “The governor being said to have contracted COVID-19 at the March 18 PDP South-West zonal unification rally doesn’t come to play, because there was no known incident of the virus in Oyo State at that time. Also, the governor didn’t have any symptom as of that time.
“At the time that the rally was held, there was no known case of the COVID-19 and after the rally, Governor Makinde actually put out a message to indicate that if he had got a hint of the existence of coronavirus in the state an hour to the rally, he would have cancelled the event. He took responsibility for holding the rally.
“So, we can’t afford to politicise the issue of COVID-19. It is beyond politics.”
Adisa noted that the only plausible case of exposure that Makinde had to coronavirus was when he attended the National Economic Council meeting on March 19, a day after the Ibadan rally.
He said, “All governors, who attended that meeting, were advised to self-isolate and undergo test after one of the attendees tested positive to the virus.
“The Nigerian Governors’ Forum had a meeting on March 18 and Governor Makinde joined his colleagues on March 19 for the National Economic Council meeting.
“He had contacts with people that have now tested positive to the virus. So, we should not politicise an issue like this.”