Ailing Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State “is repeating the same
mistake Abba Kyari made” that culminated in his losing the battle
against COVID-19, a concerned prominent Nigerian with insider knowledge
of the medical circumstances leading to Abba Kyari’s death has lamented.
“I can’t believe this,” the source told News Express in reaction to
Governor Ikpeazu’s travails. “Ikpeazu is repeating the same mistake Abba
Kyari made. All he should do is to allow his personal physician to be
part of the COVID-19 response team of the FCT for the purpose of
attending to him. The WHO cocktail being administered to COVID-19
patients in the isolation centres is completely unknown to private
clinics. That’s what happened to Abba Kyari.”
The concerned Nigerian spoke out after reading the recent exclusive
story by News Express that Ikpeazu was being treated at a private
facility at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. Abba Kyari,
erstwhile Chief of Staff to President Buhari, died on April 17, 2020
after weeks-long battle with COVID-19.
Ikpeazu has not been seen in public, on TV or social media for weeks,
sparking fears that his situation may be serious. His positive test
result was announced on June 8 by Abia State Commissioner for
Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu. This is contrary to the practice of
governors who contract COVID-19 personally announcing it on camera and
assuring their subjects as they proceed for treatment.
Confirming the status of the Governor, Okiyi had said: “The Governor
confirmed that the second test carried out on his sample by the NCDC
laboratory returned a positive result.
“I wish to assure the good people of Abia State that their governor is
fighting the virus. We spoke even up to 2 a.m. this morning but he
decided that it is important to let the people of Abia State know and
that we also strongly advise our people to take personal responsibility
for their own safety because COVID-19 is real and that the state has the
resources to nurse individuals who might come down with this virus back
to good health.”
Continuing, Okiyi said: “The governor is being taken care of by a team
of competent medics and, in the interim, the Deputy Governor will
continue to perform the duties of the Office of the Governor and we do
not expect that there will be any lacuna in government.”
Before Ikpeazu’s positive test, four other state governors previously
contracted COVID-19 but have since been successfully treated and
returned to work. They are Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi)
and Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna.
