Whereabouts of 15 Visiting Chinese Doctors Unknown?
The Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Rt Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has inquired of the whereabouts
of the visiting Chinese medical personnel. The Speaker said that the activities
of the doctors in the country must the over-sighted by the parliament.
Gbajabiamila said this at
a meeting between the leadership of the National Assembly and the Presidential
Task Force (PTF) led by its Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Boss Mustapha on the updates of the team’s activities on
coronavirus, Thursday in Abuja. He however directed the enquiry to the Minister
of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire.
The Speaker who needed to
know if the health experts were subjected to the laid down protocols of the
disease as instructed also said the need to monitor the movement of the Chinese
medical personnel had become necessary following fears expressed by Nigerians
over the coming of the Chinese.
15 Chinese medical
personnel came into Nigeria on Wednesday for the delivery of materials and
equipment to the Nigerian government in the fight against Covid-19.
Hear the Speaker, “This
engagement is to see how we can make things better. The Chinese medical
personnel, are they coming to upgrade our laboratories, are you accepting them?
Who are the technicians that have been running the Kaduna and Kano laboratories
before now?
“Where are the Chinese
personnel as we speak? How are you sure that the Chinese company responsible
for this arrangement are complying with your directives?”
The Speaker also wondered
why there were little incidences of Covid-19 cases in the northern part of the
country, considering the fact that the virus in highly infectious.
“What about inter-state
immigration? Would you be surprised if you now have let’s say 500 cases in the
north and you haven’t tested anyone in the north?
“My point is, let us begin
to test everybody since the disease is highly infectious. We have a problem of
contact tracing with people giving wrong addresses. Have you tried tracing them
through the Immigration Service and telecommunication companies since there are
other details that can be sourced from those windows?”
Gbajabiamila also mooted
the enactment of some legislations for the disbursement of government and
private funds for the pandemic. The same, he said applied to persons who had
publicly pledged to make some donations.
According to him, a piece
of law should be made to discourage them from reneging on their public pledges.
The Speaker added that
without legislation, the disbursement of government funds on Covid-19 funds may
become a subject of litigation if there was no law prescribed by law to spend
it. He also expressed disappointment with a report that medical and other
health personnel at the entry points and the hospitals, working to halt the
spread of the coronavirus pandemic were yet to be paid hazard allowance.
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